The current CSL league leaders Shanghai Port will take on the defending champions Wuhan Three Towns at the SAIC Motor Pudong Arena on Wednesday.
Both sides have been very good in the league in recent weeks and will be putting unbeaten streaks on the line in this match, with the hosts currently unbeaten in four, while the away side were last defeated five matches ago.
Match preview
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Shanghai Port have been better than the rest so far this season and are well up on the fourth-placed finish that they managed last term when they finished 13 points behind this opponent and missed out on an AFC Champions League qualifier spot on goal difference.
They unexpectedly dropped points in their last match, drawing 1-1 to bottom club Dalian Pro, but they are still three points clear of Shanghai Shenhua in second place at the halfway point in the league season.
Shenglong Li scored for a second time in as many matches last weekend, but despite going down to 10 men in the second half, Dalian Pro put on a tremendous defensive effort to hold off the league leaders, who threw everything they had at their opposition in the closing moments of the match.
The hosts have recorded 10 wins, four draws and suffered just one loss in their 15 matches to date while also holding the league's second-best scoring record with 25 goals, which is only bettered by Beijing Guoan on 28.
Javier Pereira's side won the reverse fixture 2-0 back in April, and having only taken two points in their last two matches, they will see this as a must-win, or they could find their lead atop the league erased by the end of the matchday.
Meanwhile, the first half of the season has not gone according to plan for the defending champions, who are down in seventh place with 23 points at the halfway stage, 11 points off their opponents, and four behind the AFC Champions League qualifier places.
They come into this match following an excellent 2-1 win over Changchun Yatai last week, which saw them improve their recent league run to five matches unbeaten, including three draws and two wins.
Abdul-Aziz Yakubu slotted away a penalty in the final five minutes of that match to secure the victory for Wuhan TT, and with that, he has now registered four goals in his last two matches and six overall, leaving him fifth in the current top goalscorer standings.
The visitors have only suffered two losses in the first half of the season but had dropped too many points for their liking, drawing more than half of their matches, which ultimately led to the dismissal of Pedro Morilla last month with Tsutomu Takahata stepping into the role.
The Japanese manager has done fairly well so far, recording four wins, four losses and one loss in his first nine games in charge, and has not lost a single away match since his appointment.
Team News
Pereira will have a full contingent of players to choose from in this match and will likely make a few changes to the side that were unable to overcome Dalian Pro last week.
Huikang Cai and Xin Xu are fancied to return to the starting 11 for this match, which could mean that Wenjun Lue and Zhen Wei drop to the bench.
Li's two goals in his last two matches should be enough to secure himself another start here alongside Wu Lei, who is the side's top scorer this season with seven.
Takahata fielded an unchanged side in the last two matches, and with both ending in victory, it would come as no surprise if he decided to go with the same lineup again here.
Yakubu has been in excellent form of late and should lead the line with Pegfei Xie, Dighao Yan and Davidson just behind, while Nicolae Claudiu Stanciu will provide the cover for the defence in holding midfield.
Shanghai Port possible starting lineup:
Yan; Wang, Browning, Zhang, A Li; Muzepper, Cai, Oscar; Xu, S Li, Wu
Wuhan Three Towns possible starting lineup:
D Liu; Deng, Y Liu, Ren, Wang; He, Stanciu, Davidson, Yan, Xie; Yakubu
We say: Shanghai Port 1-1 Wuhan Three Towns
The hosts will be desperate for a win here to maintain their lead at the top of the table, but they have had a noticeable dip in form over the last two matches, which will give the visitors confidence that they can take something from this match.
It should be a tight and tactical encounter, and we expect both sides to cancel each other out by the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
