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The Chinese Super League is back after a two-month hiatus and it begins with Beijing Guoan and Hebei trading tackles on Friday.
This matchday five fixture will pit fourth against fifth in Group B of the CSL with just two points separating the two sides. Hebei are the better-placed side with eight points garnered from four matches to date.
Guoan come into the game on the back of a 4-0 hiding by Kawasaki Frontale. A second-half own goal by Jixuan Leng compounded a difficult afternoon for the Chinese capital side.
Hebei have not been in action since they played out a 1-1 draw with Shanghai Shenhua over two months ago.
Adrian Mierzejewski scored a dramatic equalizer in the ninth minute of injury time after Hu Rentian had put Hebei ahead in the first half.
Beijing Guoan vs Hebei Head-to-Head
The two sides have traded tackles on 10 previous occasions and Beijing Guoan have a marginally better head-to-head record.
The Imperial Guards have five wins to their name, while Hebei were victorious on four occasions. One previous game ended in a share of the spoils.
That draw came in their most recent meeting, a six-goal thriller in September 2020 that saw Hebei score two goals in injury time to snatch a 3-3 draw on home turf.
Beijing Guoan form guide (AFC Champions League): L-L-L-L-L
Hebei form guide (league): D-W-W-D
Beijing Guoan vs Hebei Team News
Beijing Guoan
John Hou Saeter, Jonathan Viera and Yang Yu are still unavailable due to injuries they picked up earlier this year.
Guoan disputed the AFC Champions League group stage with mostly youth players, owing to China's strict COVID-19 travel protocols.
Manager Slaven Bilic did not travel with the team to Uzbekistan but they should be back to a full-strength squad in the CSL.
Injured: John Hou Saeter, Jonathan Viera, Yang Yu
Suspension: None
Hebei
Goalkeeper Wenyi Chi suffered a head injury against Shanghai Shenhua and had to be replaced in injury time.
Injuries: Wenyi Chi
Suspension: None
Beijing Guoan vs Hebei Predicted XI
Beijing Guoan Predicted XI (4-3-3): Sen Hou (GK); Lei Li, Dabao Yu, Lucas, Fan Yang; Tianyi Gao, Zhongguo Chi, Nicholas Yennaris; Xizhe Zhang, Yuning Zhang, Cedric Bakambu
Hebei Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Yaxiong Bao (GK); Lin Cui, Samir Memisevic, Ximing Pan, Chengdong Zhang; Ole Selnaes, Qiuming Wang; Xuchen Yao, Yin Hongbo, Rentian Hu; Marcao
Beijing Guoan vs Hebei Prediction
The two sides have been out of league action for over two months and both sets of players are likely to be slow out of the blocks as they get back into top-flight action.
Guoan are favorites in the game and the senior squad will be keen to get back to winning ways after their youth team were outclassed on the continent. We are predicting a comfortable victory for Slaven Bilic's men.
Prediction: Beijing Guoan 2-0 Hebei
