Chengdu Qianbao will need to return to winning ways to maintain pressure on the sides at the top of the CSL when they play host to Henan Songshan Longmen at the Leshan Olympic Sports Center Stadium on Tuesday.
Both sides come into this match following defeats in their last two league fixtures, with the hosts' most recent loss coming against Meizhou Hakka, while the visitors were beaten 1-0 by Shangdong Taishan.
Match preview
While Chengdu Rongcheng have lost their last two matches, they are still in third place in the league, which is two places up from last season and just seven points off Shanghai Port, who also dropped points last week.
In their last match, goalkeeper Yan Zhang was shown a red card inside the first 15 minutes, which put his side on the back foot, and they found themselves two goals down inside the hour mark and unable to overturn the deficit.
The hosts were unbeaten in the league this season up until their loss to Beijing Guoan at the start of the month, and Seo Jung-won will need to get his group back on track here, or they could find themselves slipping out of the AFC Champions League qualifier spots.
They do still possess the joint-best home record in the league, with four wins, three draws and just one loss in their eight matches on home soil, though it is worth pointing out that they have failed to score in the last two.
The hosts are unbeaten against this opponent in their last three encounters and will be quietly confident about their chances of winning this one, with Henan struggling for form at the moment.
Meanwhile, Henan finished last season in sixth place and just six points behind Chengdu Rongcheng, but they have been unable to show the same type of form this season as they come into this match just five points above the drop zone and down in 11th place.
The visitors lost their last match 1-0 to Shandong Taishan, which brought an end to a four-match unbeaten run and was just their second defeat conceded on home soil all season.
However, while they have been difficult to beat at home, their away record tells a different story, as they have only managed one win in seven matches on the road, along with two draws and four defeats.
Evidently, the major issue for Sergio Zarco Diaz's men has been in the goalscoring department, where they currently hold the third-worst record of any side in the league, netting just 13 times in their 15 matches, with only Nantong Zhiyun and Dalian Pro scoring fewer.
Henan managed to take a point off this opponent in the reverse fixture back in April, thanks to a second-half equaliser by Adrian Mierzejewski, and considering their current away record, Diaz would certainly be the happier of the managers if this one ended level as well.
Team News
Zhang's straight red means that he will serve the first of his three-match ban in this one, which should see Xiaofeng Geng continue in goal after being brought on in the last match.
Manuel Palacios was the player sacrificed in that match after Zhang's dismissal, and he will likely slot straight back into the starting 11 alongside Felipe Silva and Elkeson at the top of the pitch.
For Henan, in-form Nemanja Covic will miss this match after his red card against Shandong Taishan last week, which could allow Boyuan Feng to return in attack for the visitors.
Mierzejewski was left out in the last match and will also be pushing for a return to the lineup, which could mean that Hildeberto Pereira drops to the bench.
Chengdu Qianbao possible starting lineup:
Geng; Liu, Windbichler, Hu; M Tang, Feng, Chow, X Tang; Palacios, Silva, Elkeson
Henan Songshan Longmen possible starting lineup:
Wang; Luo, Sunjic, Gu, Mawlanyaz; Huang, Li, Tudi, Zhong; Feng, Mierzejewski
We say: Chengdu Qianbao 2-1 Henan Songshan Longmen
Chengdu Rongcheng were unlucky in their last match, as the early dismissal of their goalkeeper evidently affected their game plan and the outcome of the match. With a full team and against a Henan side that have been very poor on the road this season, we fancy that the hosts will come out on top in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
