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The winners of the recently concluded Chinese Super League as well as the Chinese FA Cup, Shandong Taishan, will now look to conquer Asia as they begin their AFC Champions League journey with a game against Daegu on Friday.
Shandong have been in an incredible run of form in their domestic competitions and will look to replicate that momentum in the AFC Champions League as well.
Their rivals, on the other hand, are struggling in the Korean first division and sit outside the top 10.
Shandong Taishan vs Daegu Head-to-Head
It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in Asia.
On current form, the advantage goes to the home team who won the domestic double last season.
Shandong Taishan form guide : D-W-W-W-W
Daegu form guide: L-L-D-L-W
Shandong Taishan vs Daegu Team News
Shandong Taishan
Xinghan Wu remains sidelined with a knee injury. Bowei Song has not featured in any league game since the restart and his involvement remains doubtful.
Injured: Xinghan Wu
Doubtful: Bowei Song
Suspended: None
Daegu
Jang Seong-won will be out of action after suffering a niggle in their defeat to Ulsan.
Injured: Jang Seong-won
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Shandong Taishan vs Daegu Predicted XI
Shandong Taishan Predicted XI (4-3-3): Wang Dalei; Jadson Cristiano, Lin Dai, Chen Zhechao, Wang Tong; Xu Xin, Jun-Ho Son, Son Xu Xin, Jin Jingdao; Moisés, Pedro Delgado
Daegu Predicted XI (3-4-3): Oh Seung-hoon (GK); Jeong Tae-uk, Hong Jeong-woon, Jin-Hyuk Kim; Jae-Won Hwang, Bruno Lamas, Hee-Seung Kim, An Yong-woo; Ko Jae-hyeon, Cesinha, Edgar
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Shandong Taishan vs Daegu Prediction
The Chinese Super League winners will walk into this fixture as strong favorites. The way they managed to negotiate the challenge of Evergrande and Shanghai Shenhua was a big testament to their willingness to compete on all three fronts.
However, the AFC Champions League will be a totally different competition from what they have faced so far. The same goes for their opponents, Daegu, who come into this tie in poor form.
Daegu are winless in their last four K1 outings and will be incredibly happy to come out of this game with a point earned. However, it will be a tall ask for them given they have to deal with the likes of Delgado and Moises.
A victory for the hosts is on the cards.
Prediction: Shandong Taishan 3-1 Daegu
