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The Chinese Super League returns with a fresh set of fixtures as Shanghai Shenhua plays host to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Thursday.
Shanghai Shenhua will be looking to complete an impressive league double over the visitors after claiming a 3-1 victory back in July’s reverse fixture.
The Flower of Shanghai returned to winning ways on Monday as they claimed a 4-2 victory over Dalian Pro.
It was a thrilling and action-packed contest at the Dalian Sports Center Stadium. Christian Bassogog put in a scintillating performance as he scored in either half to inspire Shanghai Shenhua to their fifth win of the season.
Prior to that, Kang-Hee Choi’s men failed to taste victory in their last four outings, picking up two draws and losing twice.
The win saw Shanghai Shenhua rise to seventh place in the Chinese Super League table, level on 19 points with Hebei.
Shanghai Shenhua will now aim for a top-half finish this season after a run of underwhelming results saw them fall out of contention for an AFC Champions League qualification place.
Similarly, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger ended their victory drought on Monday as they secured a 3-1 win over Beijing Guoan.
In a game which saw both sides finish with 10 men, Tong Zhou’s opener was canceled out by Beijing Guoan midfielder Yuning Zhang. However, Shi Yan restored Tianjin Jinmen Tiger’s lead before Jules Iloki put the icing on the cake in the 94th minute.
The win ended the Tiger’s six-game winless run as they had picked up just two draws and lost four of their previous six outings.
The win helped Tianjin Jinmen Tiger surge from the relegation playoff zone. They presently occupy 13th place on the log, two points above the relegation playoff zone.
Shanghai Shenhua vs Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Head-To-Head
These two teams have squared off 31 times in the past. Shanghai Shenhua have 13 wins to their name compared to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger's eight wins. 10 matches have ended in a draw.
Shanghai Shenhua Form Guide: W-L-D-L-D
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Form Guide: W-D-L-L-L
Shanghai Shenhua vs Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Team News
Shanghai Shenhua
Head coach Kang-Hee Choi will still be unable to call up the services of goalkeeper Zeng Cheng, who has been ruled out injured since May.
Injured: Zeng Cheng
Suspended: None
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
The visitors will be without right-back Yuefeng Bai, who has been suspended after receiving his marching orders last time out.
Injured: None
Suspended: Yuefeng Bai
Shanghai Shenhua vs Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Predicted XI
Shanghai Shenhua Predicted XI (4-4-2): Shuai Li; Jiabao Wen, Chenjie Zhu, Matej Jonjic, Mingjian Zhao; Xi Wu, Hanchao Yu; Christian Bassagog, Lonsana Doumbouya, Adrian Mierzejewski; Giovanni Moreno
Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Predicted XI (4-3-2): Jingqi Fang; Jia’nan Wang, Yangyang Jin, Songyi Li, Tamás Kádár, Li Haoran; Piao Taoyu, Jiarun Gao, Tong Zhou; Magno Cruz, Yuanjie Su
Shanghai Shenhua vs Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Prediction
Both sides head into the game off the back of impressive victories and will be looking to build on that performance. However, Shanghai Shenhua boast a more experienced squad and we predict they will put that to good use to claim all three points.
Prediction: Shanghai Shenhua 2-0 Tianjin Jinmen Tiger
