Matchday 4 League Preview

Thank God its Friday, which means we'll have football tomorrow to continue this incredible week. If you're here, you're a football fan, and what a week, eh? A weekend of CSL and European football, including a Monday CSL match, the European and Asian Champions League midweek, and now a full weekend of football, doesn't get much better! Match of the week? I'd say first or last, Shenzhen-Dalian or Shandong-Changchun. Last week I pulled even on predictions, here's hoping I can keep the momentum:

4.11 15:30 Shenzhen - Dalian Shide
Hmm, this is a hard one to call...Shenzhen has showed some promise so far this year and Dalian is coming off an embarassing loss in nearby Guangzhou. Both squads have been mediocre this year, this is a chance for one to step up. Prediction: Shenzhen 1 - 0 Dalian.

4.11 15:30 Jiangsu Sainty - Qingdao Zhongneng
Jiangsu finally earned its first point of the year last week while Qingdao suffered through a draw in Changsha. Jiangsu has looked dangerous so far this year, the same can't really be said for Qingdao, I have a feeling that they will struggle on the road this weekend. Prediction: Jiangsu 2 - 1 Qingdao.

4.11 19:30 Hangzhou Greentown - Guangzhou Baiyunshan
Guangzhou has gotten off to a good start under former Guoan and national team manager Shen Xiangfu, Xu Liang's currently on top of the scoring charts after his hat trick last week, Hangzhou's been up and down so far. Much like the 2 matches above, these are two squads that are looking at midtable finishes, but have aspirations for more, its this kind of match that will decide exactly how good their season will be. Prediction: Hangzhou 1 - 2 Guangzhou.

4.12 15:30 Chongqing Lifan - Henan Jianye
Henan's won twice this year against average teams, but have done so at home. Chongqing is a team that is likely to go down unless big foreigners like Guinee will be able to carry them to some goals, I have a feeling its not going to happen this weekend. Prediction: Chongqing 0 - 2 Henan.

4.12 15:30 Shaanxi Zhongxin - Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai's coming off of two big wins in the domestic and Champions League, but haven't faired well away from the comforts of Hongkou. Shaanxi's in a similar situation having done well at home, but struggling on the road, while I don't think they'll be able to upset Shenhua, this could very well be a draw. Prediction: Shaanxi 1 -1 Shanghai.

4.12 16:05 Chengdu Blades - Beijing Guoan
I've predicted Guoan in every one of their matches so far, going with my heart, this one will be no different, though they really should win this one (full preview of the match coming later). Prediction: Chengdu 0 - 1 Beijing.

4.12 19:30 Changsha Jinde - Tianjin Teda
Ahh, another home match in Changsha, this is their 4th straight match at home, the only team with such a comfortable opening. The masters of the scoreless draw are going up against the team that has scored the most so far this year. How powerful is Changsha's kungfu? I think Tianjin's going to be able to maintain their spot on top, though they won't be able to fully expose Changsha's 11 behind the ball. Prediction: Changsha 0 - 1 Tianjin.

4.12 19:30 Shandong Luneng - Changchun Yatai
And finally, the 2007 champions travel to the 2008 Champions. Shandong licked their wounds after the shellacking they took in Shanghai by winning in the Champions League midweek, but still look to be seriously missing Zhou Haibin. Changchun's started strong with 2 wins and a draw to sit in 3rd place. This is a tough one to call, but I have a feeling Changchun will hammer out a tough fought road win. Prediction: Shandong 1 - 2 Changchun.

That's it for now, have a great weekend and enjoy the football (and hopefully nice weather too)!

Matchday 2 CSL Top XI

Soccer News has picked its top XI from Matchday 2 and this time around its a 442:

Goalie:

Li Leilei (Shandong Luneng)

Defense:

Cao Yang (Tianjin Teda)

Li Zhihai (Guangzhou Baiyunshan)

Tang Jing (Changchun Yatai)

Liu Yu (Chengdu Blades)

Midfield:

Zhang Yuan (Chengdu Blades)

Wang Xinxin (Tianjin Teda)

Antar (Shandong Luneng)

Zhao Mingjian (Dalian Shide)

Forwards:

Rodrigues (Chengdu Blades)

Guinee (Chongqing Lifan)

Matchday 1 League Recap

Yes, it took me a week to complete this.  Yes, I'm extremely lazy.  Yes, it wont take a week next time around.

Here goes:

Henan Jianye 2 - 1 Guangzhou Baiyunshan

The season kicked off in Zhengzhou with an interesting opening ceremony, a huge crowd, and the home team coming out on top.  A goal in the first half by Brazilian, Netto, opened up the scoring, but Guangzhou came back with an early second half goal in the 53rd minute, though less than 5 minutes later Henan once again took the lead and this time held on to it.

Shandong Luneng 1 - 1 Shenzhen

This had to be the shocker of matchday 1 as Shenzhen, a squad that narrowly avoided relegation, was able to earn a point at last year's champions.  Shenzhen took the lead in the 70th minute off of an Yin Xiaolong goal, though the hosts were able to avoid embarrassment when substitute Lu Zheng equalized 10 minutes later.

Shaanxi Zhongxin 2 - 0 Chengdu Blades

Shaanxi had a very workmanlike victory over the Chengdu squad with 2 second half goals.  One even set up by that most hated of Chinese footballers, Li Yi.

Changsha Jinde 0 - 0 Changchun Yatai

A great result for Changsha, a bad start for Changchun, a snorefest for everyone else.

Hangzhou Greentown 2 -1 Qingdao Zhongneng

Hangzhou scored the quickest goal so far when Otto put it in just 2 minutes after kick off, though Qingdao was able to equalize before the end of the first half.  However, just a few minutes into the 2nd half, Hangzhou took the lead.  Hangzhou was able to hold onto the lead, despite some close calls in the 2nd half.

Tianjin Teda 4 - 1 Dalian Shide

In what could truly be a changing of the guard in Chinese football, Tianjin decimated Dalian, scoring 4 times and perhaps symbolizing their ascendance into the top tier of Chinese football while Dalian continues to fade away.  Mao Biao kicked off the scoring for Tianjin and also assisted on a goal by Hao Junmin.

Shanghai Shenhua 2 - 1 Jiangsu Sainty

In what was a very boring game early, the two teams did a lot to make it interesting at the end. Newly promoted Jiangsu went ahead in the 76th minute off of a header by Carlos, making it look like we might see a great upset, though Shanghai (unfortunately) was able to equalize in the 87th and then go ahead in the 91st off of a goal from Shen Longyan to seal a victory.