With the Chinese Football Association (CFA) unveiling the entry list of professional league clubs at all levels for the new season, the grouping pattern of the new Chinese Super League season is also becoming clear. The defending champions Jiangsu will not be able to play, and the Cangzhou Lions, who have been upgraded to the next level, will be placed in Group A (Guangzhou Region) according to the rules. The new Chinese Super League season is expected to kick off on April 20 in Guangzhou. The first match is expected to feature last season's Chinese Super League runners-up Guangzhou and Cangzhou Lions. The new season of the Chinese Super League will be divided into three phases, the first phase due to the national team to participate in the second half of the 40 strong tournament tournament, will be more detailed staging, the earliest closing date of the full season is scheduled for December 1st.
Cangzhou Lions successfully upgraded to the Chinese Super League, the new season of the Chinese Super League grouping pattern in accordance with the "serpentine arrangement" principle has been clearly visible. Accordingly, Guangzhou, Shandong Taishan, Chongqing, Henan Songshan Longmen, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Cangzhou Lions are divided in Group A; Beijing Guoan, Shanghai Harbor, Shanghai Shenhua, Hebei, Guangzhou City, Dalian People's Team, Wuhan, Changchun Yatai are divided into Group B. The first phase of the two groups of the tournament will be held in Guangzhou and Suzhou, respectively, Group B brings together strong teams such as Guoan, Harbor and Shenhua, and the matches may be even more intense.
The 2021 Chinese Super League season is planned to be played in three stages. Unlike last season's compact 20-round schedule, the new Super League will play a full 30 rounds, with the final champion determined by calculating round-robin points. The first stage will consist of 14 rounds. The second and third phases will each have eight rounds of matches. The second and third phases may resume the home-and-away system depending on the actual situation such as epidemic prevention and control, while the first phase will maintain the conference system.
According to the design of the competition department of the Preparatory Group for the Professional League, after the 14 rounds of matches in the first phase of the Super League, the top four teams of each group will be merged with the bottom four teams of the other group to play a double round-robin tournament system within the group. Teams that have already played each other in the first phase will not meet again in the second phase. After the eight rounds of the second phase, the top four teams in each group will be regrouped for a double round-robin tournament, and the teams that have played each other in the first phase will not face each other again.
There are no direct drop places in the 2021 season of the Chinese Super League. The last two teams in the standings will play two rounds of elevation playoffs with the third and fourth place teams in the current season's Chinese League One, with the winners qualifying for the 2022 season of the Chinese Super League.
The schedule for each stage of the new Premier League season is as follows:
Phase 1 (Rounds 1-5): April 20-May 17 (before the Top 40)
Phase 1 (Rounds 6-14): June 21-August 5 (after the Top 40)
Phase 2 (Rounds 15-22): August 21st - September 29th;
