Seeking to pick up a third successive victory for the first time since October 2017, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger visit the Meixian Tsang Hin-chi Stadium to face Shenzhen on Wednesday.
The Youth Army, meanwhile, head into the game winless in each of their last five home games against the visitors and will be looking to end this poor run.
Match preview
Shenzhen continue to struggle for consistency in the new Super League season as they were held to a 2-2 draw by 15th-placed Chengdu Rongcheng on Sunday.
Ruibao Hu inadvertently scored an own goal 20 minutes after putting Seo Jung-won’s side ahead, and after Chae-min Im put the visitors ahead in the 59th minute, Tao Liu found the target with 12 minutes left on the clock to force a share of the spoils.
The Youth Army have now failed to win three of their last four outings — picking up one draw and losing two — with a 1-0 victory over Cangzhou Mighty Lions on June 17 being the exception.
This unconvincing run has been owing to their defensive frailties as Lee Jang-Soo’s men have conceded eight goals in that time, while managing two clean sheets in their six outings so far.
Shenzhen have picked up three wins, one draw and lost two of their six games so far to collect 10 points and sit sixth in the Super League standings, two points and five placed above Wednesday’s visitors.
Meanwhile, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger made it two wins from two for the first time this season when they narrowly edged out Meizhou Hakka 1-0 last time out.
In a cagey affair at the Wuhua Olympic Sports Center Huitang Stadium, Brazilian forward Farley Rosa came up trumps for the Tigers as he scored the only goal of the game in the 13th minute.
Prior to that, Yu Genwei’s side went winless in their opening four games of the season — picking up two points from the first 12 — before claiming a comfortable 2-0 victory at Cangzhou Mighty Lions on June 21.
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger’s recent upturn in form has been owing to the solid job done at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have kept two successive clean sheets for the first time since ending last season with a run of four games without conceding back in January.
Team News
Off the back of an impressive attacking display at Chengdu Rongcheng, Jang-Soo could name a similar starting side on Wednesday, meaning we could see a midfield three of Tsun Dai, Yuanyi Li and Yuan Zhang.
Further up the pitch, Ghanian forward Frank Acheampong, who boasts four goals to his name already, should spearhead the attack once again, while former Marseille man Romain Alessandrini will push for a starting role.
Rosa played a crucial role for Tianjin Jinmen Tiger yet again as they claimed a slender victory over Meizhou Hakka at the weekend and we expect the Brazilian to retain his spot at the centre of the park.
However, Xie Weijun is a doubt for the visitors after the 24-year-old forward came off with a 67th-minute injury in the aforementioned game.
Should he fail to shake off the injury, former Saint-Etienne forward Robert Beric could come in for his first start of the season, teaming up with Dun Ba and Shi Yan in the final third.
Shenzhen possible starting lineup:
L Zhang; H Xu, Pei, Chea-Min, Yuan; Zhipeng, Dai, Y Zhang, Yuanyi; Alessandrini, Acheampong
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger possible starting lineup:
Xu; Bai, Yang, Andujar, J Wang; Tian, Rosa, Q Wang; Ba, Yan, Beric