On August 11th at 7:35 PM, Qingdao West Coast will host Beijing Guoan at the University City Stadium in the 22nd round of the Chinese Super League.
Both Beijing and Shandong media have highlighted the biggest attraction of the game: Shao Jiayi’s return to his former club. At the end of July, Qingdao West Coast made a coaching change, bringing in Beijing Guoan legend Shao Jiayi. In his first game in charge, Shao Jiayi helped Qingdao West Coast, who had lost two of their previous three games, draw with Cangzhou Lions, ending their losing streak. How Shao Jiayi will use his knowledge of his former club to formulate a strategy to contain them has sparked discussion in the media of both cities.
Both teams are under considerable pressure. Qingdao West Coast are in a desperate battle to avoid relegation. After Cangzhou Lions pulled off a shock victory against Shandong Taishan in this round, Qingdao West Coast, who have a game in hand, have fallen back into the “relegation zone”. Therefore, despite facing a tough opponent, Qingdao will be hoping to get points.
Beijing Guoan are currently in fourth place, eleven points behind Chengdu Rongcheng in third place, who have a game in hand. Beijing, who are aiming to finish in the top three and qualify for the Asian Champions League, must ensure they get as many points as possible and then wait for Chengdu to make a mistake. Both the coach and players have emphasized that “the most important thing is to do our own job well”.
In terms of form, Qingdao West Coast’s morale has been boosted since the coaching change. They have also been impressive at home in recent games, winning against Zhejiang, drawing with Meizhou Hakka and Cangzhou Lions in their last three home league matches. They are unbeaten in these three matches and have scored nine goals, showing good momentum.
Beijing Guoan have been struggling on the road in recent league games. In their last five away matches, they lost to Changchun Yatai, drew with Qingdao Hainiu, and then lost consecutively to Henan, Shanghai Port, and Shenzhen. They have scored only five goals in these five games while conceding twelve. The coach repeatedly emphasized the importance of improving their away form in his pre-match press conference.
In terms of head-to-head records, the two teams have met twice in the last year. Beijing Guoan won both matches against Qingdao West Coast in the FA Cup and the league, 4-1 each time, demonstrating a clear advantage.
In terms of players, Qingdao captain Shi Yong is out injured. Shandong media have highlighted Qingdao West Coast’s naturalized player Alan as a key player. Alan has been in excellent form, scoring four goals and providing two assists in the league since July. For Guoan, Mohemayiti remains unavailable, while Beijing media have highlighted the value of “super substitute” Wang Ziming. He has come off the bench to score quickly in recent matches against Cangzhou Lions and Shanghai Shenhua. Notably, against Shenhua, he came on in the second minute of added time and scored five minutes later.
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