The Chinese Super League returns later this week and will see Chongqing Liangjiang host Shanghai Shenhua on Friday morning.
Chongqing Liangjiang finally picked up their first win since the restart as they beat Dalian Pro 1-0 on Tuesday. The victory over Dalian Pro ended a seven-game winless streak in the league, a run which saw them score just five times.
Chongqing Liangjiang sit fifth in the relegation round with 16 points from 20 games. They are just one point above the drop zone and need to avoid defeat on Friday to keep alive their chances of survival.
Shanghai Shenhua played out a 1-1 draw against Cangzhou Mighty Lions last time out, with Haijan Wang scoring his first-ever goal for the club to level the scores. The visitors have now avoided defeat in five of their six games since the restart.
Shanghai Shenhua sit top of the table with 33 points from 20 games. A point will be enough to guarantee the hosts a first-place finish in the relegation round.
Chongqing Liangjiang vs Shanghai Shenhua Head-to-Head
There have been 22 meetings between Chongqing Liangjiang and Shanghai Shenhua. The hosts have picked up just two wins from those games while the visitors have won 13 times. There have been seven draws between the two sides.
The two sides last met earlier this month, with Shanghai Shenhua picking up a 4-1 win.
Chongqing Liangjiang Form Guide: W-L-D-L-L
Shanghai Shenhua Form Guide: D-W-L-W-D
Chongqing Liangjiang vs Shanghai Shenhua Team News
Chongqing Liangjiang
Le Liu, Miller Bolanos, Zhao Chen and Dostonbek Tursunov are all out with injuries and will not feature against Shanghai Shenhua on Friday.
Injured: Le Liu, Miller Bolanos, Zhao Chen, Dostonbek Tursunov
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Shanghai Shenhua
Giovanni Moreno, Christian Bassogog and Shin Wook Kim all remain out of the squad due to injuries and will not feature for the visitors. Lonsana Doumbouya is unavailable due to personal reasons.
Injured: Giovanni Moreno, Christian Bassogog, Shin Wook Kim
Unavailable: Lonsana Doumbouya
Suspended: None
Chongqing Liangjiang vs Shanghai Shenhua Predicted XI
Chongqing Liangjiang Predicted XI (5-4-1): Xiaofei Deng; Sun Xuelong, Shenglong Jiang, Wu Xu, Shuai Yang, Qing Wu; Jin Feng, Jie Chen, Xiyang Huang, Fernandinho; Congyao Yin
Shanghai Shenhua Predicted XI (4-4-2): Ma Zhen; Denny Wang Yi, Bi Jinhao, Xiaoting Feng, Jiajun Bai; Wang Haijian, Xi Wu, Shilin Sun, Hanchao Yu; Yang Xu, Xinli Peng
Chongqing Liangjiang vs Shanghai Shenhua Prediction
Chongqing Liangjiang picked up their first win since the restart on Tuesday, ending a seven-game winless run in the league. They are just a point above the relegation zone and do not have room for slipups in their final two games.
Shanghai Shenhua have lost just once since the restart and twice in their last 12 games across all competitions. A draw would be enough to secure top spot in the group. The visitors, however, have more than enough to go further and pick up all three points.
Prediction: Chongqing Liangjiang 0-1 Shanghai Shenhua