Beijing Guoan FC
- Beijing Guoan FC have won three and lost two of their last five matches (all competitions).
- Nick Montgomery’s appointment as head coach in January has brought a new dynamic to the capital club, who now play an ultra-aggressive, high-pressing style with a front-heavy 4-4-2 system.
- Slutsky has emphasised positional discipline and a sharp midfield pressing style to control the tempo, dictate play and exploit the transitions, but Guoan’s high-octane style could lead to a free-flowing game on Saturday.
Shanghai Shenhua
- Shanghai Shenhua have failed to win any of their last three away games, drawing once and losing twice.
- Rafael Ratao is in good form, scoring three goals in his last five for the club, while they have scored eight times in those five games, although their away form has been poor.
- Shenhua sit at -6 points after two matches due to administrative penalties.
Head-to-Head
Shanghai Shenhua have won one and drawn one of the last two meetings between these teams in the Chinese Super League.
Key Players
- Rafael Ratao is in good form, scoring three goals in his last five for the club, while they have scored eight times in those five games, although their away form has been poor.
- Backing both teams to score on Saturday looks good value at 1.36, with Gang Wang having provided two assists in two league games and Fabio Abreu scoring four goals in his last five appearances, while Yuning Zhang is making a name for himself as Guoan’s lone frontman with two in two.
- Joao Carlos Teixeira is their top goal-scorer with two in as many games.
Betting Insights
Backing both teams to score on Saturday looks good value at 1.36 , with Gang Wang having provided two assists in two league games and Fabio Abreu scoring four goals in his last five appearances, while Yuning Zhang is making a name for himself as Guoan’s lone frontman with two in two.
Prediction
- The odds of 2.86 for the visitors to win on Saturday seems very good for a team who are still the slight outsiders, but we’re going to side with the away team in this one.
- Slutsky’s side will look to control the game and exploit the spaces left by Guoan’s aggressive pressing, and there should be an extra edge to this clash given the teams’ positions in the league.
