Chinese Super League Preview: Evergrande face pivotal Guangzhou derby

Guangzhou Evergrande’s hopes of making history could well be a dealt a blow on Sunday when they face city rivals Guangzhou R and F.

Marcello Lippi’s Evergrande have been in blistering form of late and are in position to become the first team to claim a fourth straight CSL crown, with nearest challengers Beijing Guoan six points behind in second place with five games remaining.

R and F are a further seven points back and all but out of the title race, however, they will not be short of motivation to try to derail Evergrande’s bid in a game that may well prove pivotal to their ambitions of sealing the third and final AFC Champions League qualification spot.

Any slip up by Evergrande could enable Guoan to cut the gap to just three points and place more emphasis on the meeting between the two in the penultimate round of fixtures next month.

But Guoan cannot afford to take anything for granted ahead of their trip to Liaoning Whowin, who have momentum after winning three of their last four matches and boosting prospects of top-flight survival.

Whowin are in a group of six teams separated by just seven points at the bottom of the table, and the fight to avoid the drop promises to intensify this weekend with bottom club Harbin Yiteng facing a crucial match with third-bottom Dalian Aerbin.

Second-bottom Henan Jianye and fourth-bottom Shanghai Shenxin both take on sides whose relegation fears have yet to be totally diminished in the form of Tianjin Teda and Hangzhou.

At the right end of the table, Shanghai SIPG and Shandong Luneng will aim to potentially reduce the deficit to R and F to three points with wins against Guizhou Renhe and Shanghai Shenhua.

Elsewhere, Jiangsu Sainty host Changchun Yatai.