Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC will entertain the challenge of Shanghai East Asia FC at the Jinzhou Stadium on Friday in round nine of the 2022 Chinese Super League season.
The hosts are aiming to avoid a fourth straight defeat in this one, while the visitors go in search of consecutive victories having returned to winning ways last time out.
Match preview
Shanghai East Asia FC saw off the threat of a resolute Hebei side in a narrow 2-1 win at the Puwan Stadium when the teams faced off on Monday.
Ivan Leko’s men opened the scoring in the first half through Wenjun Lu but were pegged two minutes shy of the hour mark thanks to Wei Zhang, only for Zhurun Liu to decide the game with a 77th-minute winner.
Consequently, the Red Eagles have moved up to seventh place in the standings and are now just four points adrift in the race for continental qualification.
Next up is the task of taking on an opposing outfit who have won only two of the 14 previous meetings between the teams stretching back to 2016.
Ahead of a daunting assignment against current league leaders Wuhan Three Towns four days later, Friday’s visitors will be looking to secure a confidence-boosting triumph in this one.
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC were beaten away from home for the fourth game running following a disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Wuhan FC on Monday.
Liu Zhiyu’s men trailed to Asmir Kajevic’s 18th-minute opener before restoring parity through Liyu Yang, but they were eventually put to the sword by Felicio Brown’s winner in the 79th minute.
With just three points amassed from a possible 24 so far, the South China Tigers are 16th in the standings at the moment, albeit only three points shy of safety.
Having scored the joint-fewest number of goals on home turf in the entire division, Friday’s hosts will need to up the ante at the attacking end of the pitch to stand any chance of coming away with a positive result.
Team News
Midfielder Shengxiong Zheng is a doubt for Friday’s contest having missed Guangzhou’s last outing with a minor injury problem.
Liyu Yang has scored two of his side’s four goals this term, and he will be heavily relied upon to provide firepower in attack.
Twenty-year-old Zhurun Liu could be rewarded with a place in the starting XI here after coming off the bench to good effect for Shanghai Port against Hebei.
Cherif Ndiaye saw his three-game scoring streak come to an end in the aforementioned match, but the Senegalese remains one to keep an eye on.
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC possible starting lineup:
Liu; Wu, Li, Browning, Wang; Asqer, Huang, Yan, Yang; Wei, Li
Shanghai East Asia FC possible starting lineup:
Yan; Zhang, Wang, Li; Li, Feng, Chen, Muzepper, Lu; Paulinho, Ndiaye