Shanghai Shenhua have Li Jianbin absent due to injury and it weakens the bench options for the CB position. Qing Sheng has been absent for long so his absence could be covered well. Tevez is also absent but his role could be partly covered by Martins. Cong Zhen is suspended but has little impact to the team. The +0.75 handicap is fair. Shanghai Shenhua will play with some motivation at home. Regarding the quality of players, the players of Shanghai Shenhua is worse than Guangzhou Evergrande but the gap is not huge. They could draw or be defeated with a little margin in this game. It is a little bit difficult for Shanghai Shenhua to beat the 3.25 goal line. Without Tevez, the attacking line of Shanghai Shenhua is weakened moderately. It is possible that Shanghai Shenhua could score a goal, but are less likely to score more than one against the top team in the league.
Guangzhou Evergrande have Huang Bowen and Mei Fang absent due to injury. The absence of Mei Fang weakens the CB position moderately while the absence of Huang Bowen weakens the midfield line considerably. It is the first match after Paulinho left the club, whose departure is a huge blow for the team. The -0.75 handicap is fair. Though the quality of players of Guangzhou Evergrande is better than Shanghai SIPG, Guangzhou Evergrande needs to conserve energy for the Asian Champions League next Tuesday. A draw or a win with a small margin is the most likely result. It is a little bit difficult for Guangzhou Evergrande to help beat the 3.25 goal line. Though the defense of Shanghai Shenhua is poor, Guangzhou Evergrande needs to conserve energy for the more important match next Tuesday so they are less likely to score a lot this game.
Verdict & Prediction
5 points above Shanghai SIPG, players of Guangzhou Evergrande might not be pressured enough as they were 1 month ago. Though Guangzhou Evergrande had a CFA cup match on Wednesday, they made a rotation and most important players are rested in the mid-week game. The Asian Champions League quarter-final next Tuesday is more important than this match for Evergrande. Guangzhou Evergrande may play with considerable reservation in this game. We recommend a bet on under 3.35 goals!
Prediction: Under 3.25 goals
Odds: 2.04 Pinnacle
