Having lost each of their opening seven games of the new Chinese Super League campaign, Guangzhou City go head to head with Shandong Taishan on Saturday.
The Taishan Dui, on the other hand, head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last 13 games against the visitors since 2016 and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
Shandong Taishan maintained their 100% home record as they claimed a comfortable 2-0 victory over Henan Songshan Longmen last Tuesday.
In a game where Jinbao Zhong received his marching orders, Brazilian forward Cryzan put on a show as he set up Jingdao Jin's 23rd-minute opener minutes before converting his spot kick to hand the hosts all three points.
Prior to that, the Taishan Dui saw their three-game winning streak come to an end when they fell to a 2-0 loss at Zhejiang on June 25 courtesy of goals from Franko Andrijasevic and Nyasha Mushekwi.
Shandong Taishan have now picked up five wins and lost two of their opening seven games to sit third in the Super League standings, four points off first-placed Wuhan Three Towns.
This solid start to the season has been particularly down to the solid job done at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have kept five clean sheets and conceded six goals so far.
Elsewhere, Guangzhou City were left empty-handed once again as they were on the receiving end of a disappointing 3-0 loss at the hands of Dalian Pro last time out.
In a one-sided affair at the Mission Hills Football Base Stadium, Yupeng He, Yan Xiangchuang and Liangming Lin were all on target to hand the visitors just their second win of the season.
Jean-Paul van Gastel's side have now lost each of their seven games so far this term, with their last victory coming back in January when they saw off Hebei 2-1 in the season finale of the 2021-22 campaign.
This torrid start to the season has been owing to their defensive frailties and a toothless display in attack as they have scored just four goals so far while conceding 20 — the highest of all 18 teams after seven rounds of matches.
While they will look to end this dry spell and get their campaign up and running, next up is the challenge of an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in 13 consecutive attempts, losing 10 and claiming three draws since a 3-2 victory back in April 2016.
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Team News
Shandong Taishan be without the services of 29-year-old midfielder Wu Xinghan, who has been out of action since December through an ankle problem.
Long Song is also a doubt for the hosts after the 32-year-old full-back was hauled off injured shortly before half time against Henan Songshan Longmen on Tuesday.
In his absence, former Oriental Dragon man Yang Liu will push for his fourth start of the season, teaming up with Zheng Zheng, Ke Shi and Xiang Ji in the back four.
At the attacking end of the pitch, Cryzan played a key role in the victory over Songshan Longmen last time out and we expect the Brazilian forward to spearhead the attack once again.
Meanwhile, Miao Tang is yet to make an appearance this year through a meniscus injury and the 31-year-old defender remains out of contention for Guangzhou City.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Chugui Ye, who has also been out of action since last August after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.
Shandong Taishan possible starting lineup:
Dalei; Lui, Shi, Zheng, Ji; Jun-ho, Moises, Jingdao, Fellaini; Pu, Cryzan
Guangzhou City possible starting lineup:
Cheng; Jiang, Huang, Yi; Zhang, Li, Zhang, Fan, Chen; Wei, Gui
We say: Shandong Taishan 2-0 Guangzhou City
Shandong Taishan will be licking their lips as they welcome a floundering Guangzhou City side who are yet to pick up a point this season. The Taishan Dui's home turf has been a fortress so far and we are backing them to extend their dominance over the visitors and come away with all three points once again.
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Top tip
Joshua Ojele
