At 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 24, the 13th round bye of the Chinese Super League between Guangzhou and Dalian Ren was passionately staged at Guangzhou Huadu Stadium.
[Guangzhou Team Profile]
In the first 14 rounds of the Chinese Super League (CSL), Guangzhou won only 3 games and lost 10, placing them in the bottom third of the table with 9 points. Despite their recent poor record, they have won 2 and lost 2 in the last four rounds, including a close 1-0 win over Hebei in Dalian and 1 win and 1 loss in Haikou against the Lions and Rongcheng. Despite still being in the relegation zone, they are only 2 points away from their rivals in front of them. With a win in this match, Guangzhou is expected to overtake Dalian Ren and get out of the relegation zone. However, captain Wei Shihao is suspended for accumulating 4 yellows, which is a big loss for Guangzhou.
[Profiles of Dalianese]
In the first 14 rounds of the Chinese Super League, Dalian Ren accumulated 11 points with 2 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses, and ranked 14th. Last round, Dalian Ren won 2-0 at home against Lions, and got their first win in the last 5 rounds. In the last two rounds, Dalianjin drew 1 and won 1, including a 1-1 draw at home against Harbor and a 2-0 win at home against Lions. Despite the fact that Dalian Ren have recently introduced 6 new players, they still need to stay vigilant against Guangzhou's away challenge. Midfielder Lv Peng is suspended for accumulating 4 yellows and Wu Wei is expected to take his place in the starting lineup, while Sun Guowen will continue to miss out due to his suspension, and two foreigners, Tesonev and Mamba, may be on the bench.
In the pre-match conference, head coach Xie Hui said, "I'm very happy to come to Guangzhou, the big win of Guangzhou in the last game is a great sight to see, the team after the change of manager has improved in tactical quality and spirit, this game will be a tough match for us. By studying Guangzhou's previous matches, we realized that they are tactically quality and hope to dominate in the confrontation."
[Historical encounter]
Guangzhou (Evergrande) and Dalian (including Albin, Fang Fang and Dalian Ren) have met 13 times in the Chinese Super League and the FA Cup, with Guangzhou holding the advantage with 10 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. In the 12 meetings between the two sides in the Chinese Super League, Guangzhou is leading with 9 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
[Projected starting lineup]
Guangzhou: 1-Liu Shibo; 38-Chen Rijin (U23), 5-Wu Shaochong (U23), 6-Li Yang, 20-Wang Shilong (U23); 33-Cai Mingmin (U23), 15-Yan Dinghao, 8-Zhang Xiuwei; 23-Li Jiaheng (U23), 28-Ling Jie (U23), 17-Yang Liyu
Dalian: 1-Zhang Chong; 38-Lv Zhuo Yi (U23), 2-Lin Longchang, 22-Dong Yanfeng, 16-Tong Lei; 5-Wu Wei, 14-Huang Jiahui (U23), 28-Fei Yu; 7-Lin Liangming, 39-Yan Xianggong, 23-Shang Yin;
