Shandong Taishan square off against Shanghai Port in their upcoming Chinese Super League fixture at Hemc Sports Center on Saturday.
Shandong Taishan, the champions of the 2021 campaign, suffered their first draw of the league campaign since the restart earlier this month in their previous outing. They were held to a 1-1 draw by Beijing Guoan on Wednesday.
Shanghai Port are third in the league standings with 41 points, only behind Guangzhou FC on goal difference. In their previous outing, they recorded a 2-1 win over Guangzhou City, thanks to a first-half brace from Aaron Mooy.
It was the capital club's second win in a row and they are now unbeaten in their last three outings.
Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai Port Head-to-Head
The two sides have crossed paths 16 times across all competitions. Shandong Taishan have been the better side in this fixture with seven wins against the capital club.
Shanghai Port are winless in their last three outings against Taishan Dui and have five wins to their name in this fixture. The spoils have been shared four times between the two sides.
They last met in the championship phase fixture at the Tianhe Stadium on December 19. The game ended in a 2-0 win for Shandong Taishan thanks to goals from Jadson and Jun-ho Sun.
Shandong Taishan form guide (Chinese Super League): D-W-W-W-W
Shanghai Port form guide (Chinese Super League): W-W-D-L-W
Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai Port 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
Shanghai Port
Ricardo Lopes has been ruled out with a knee injury while Paulinho is the other injury concern for The Red Eagles.
Injury: Ricardo Lopes, Paulinho
Doubtful: Ante Majstorovic
Suspension: None
Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai Port Predicted XI
Shandong Taishan Predicted XI (4-3-3): Wang Dalei; Jadson, Lin Dai, Chen Zhechao, Wang Tong; Xu Xin, Jun-Ho Son, Jin Jingdao; Moisés, Pedro Delgado; Guo Tianyu
Shanghai Port Predicted XI (3-3-3-1): Yan Junling; Li Ang, Zhen Wei, Guan He; Shenyuan Li, Wang Shenchao, Mirahmetjan Muzepper; Oscar, Ablahan Haliq, Aaron Mooy; Liu Zhurun
Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai Port Prediction
Having won the league already, Shandong Taishan will choose to give some of their senior players a rest here. Shanghai Port, on the other hand, will be gunning to finish their season on a high.
Both clubs have enjoyed decent campaigns so far, but with nothing much left to play, we expect this encounter to end in a draw.
Prediction: Shandong Taishan 1-1 Shanghai Port