Shanghai Shenhua will look to return to form when they welcome Meizhou Hakka to the Hongkou Stadium on Monday.
Another damaging defeat last week means Shenhua's local rivals Shanghai Port have moved further ahead at the top.
Match preview
It was a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Shandong Taishan that has allowed their Shanghai rivals to extend their lead to six points at the top of CSL.
It was a shock result considering Shenhua had only conceded nine goals in 15 league games prior.
They still have the best defensive record in the division, but that defeat has dealt their goal difference a blow, given that they have not been particularly effective in attack during 2023.
No side outside the bottom five has scored fewer than their meagre total of 17, but they still remarkably find themselves in second place.
It was not stopping Wu Jingui's side from picking up wins though, as a streak of four successive victories had them breathing down the necks of the league leaders.
Two defeats in their last three have allowed Shanghai Port to open up plenty of breathing room though.
Shenhua return to home soil after two straight away fixtures, but their last outing at the Hongkou Stadium saw them lose at home for the first time since last December - going down 2-1 to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger.
Meizhou may provide a similarly stern test too, given the form that Milan Ristic's men have shown so far this month.
Back-to-back wins over Chengdu Qianbao in third and Beijing Guoan in sixth have moved Meizhou up to 11th, five points above the drop zone.
A current three-game unbeaten run has come after a run of seven games where they won just one point, and saw them plummet down the CSL standings.
However, there will be hopes they can maintain their current mid-table position, like they did last season in their first campaign at this level.
A fine goalscoring record could help preserve their status in the top flight, and they enter the weekend having scored six goals more than their opponents, despite having almost half the points tally.
Team News
Shenhua top scorer Cephas Malele was absent for the damning 3-0 defeat to Shandong, and his presence was sorely missed.
The extent of his injury is not known, meaning Christian Bassogog could come into the side to replace He Longhai after the defeat last week.
Joao Teixeira may move out wide or back into midfield after starting out-of-position as the central striker against Shandong.
There are no striking worries at Meizhou though, as Tyrone Conraad has made a wonderful start to life at the club.
After arriving at the club from Sutjeska at the start of July, Conraad netted twice in the win over Beijing Guoan last week.
The instant impact made by the Dutchman has seen him replace top scorer Yang Chaosheng in the starting lineup.
Shanghai Shenhua possible starting lineup:
Ma Zhen; Hing-Glover, Jiang Shenglong, Zhu Chenjie, Yang Zexiang; Xu Haoyang, Amadou, Wang Haijian; Liu Ruofan, Bassogog, Joao Teixeira
Meizhou Hakka possible starting lineup:
Cheng Yuelei; Yue Tze-Nam, Liao Junjian, Dugalic, Rao Weihui; Shi Liang, Kosovic, Rodrigo Henrique; Yin Hongbo, Conraad, Ye Chugui
We say: Shanghai Shenhua 2-1 Meizhou Hakka
Shenhua will be hoping the defeat in their last home outing was just a minor blip, and they can quickly return to the form which had seen them go on a seven-month unbeaten run here.
Meizhou will be confident of claiming another scalp after beating two sides in the top six, but they may find that slightly more difficult on the road.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Andrew Delaney
