Chinese Super League Preview: Battle at the bottom heats up

Wuhan Zall host Changchun Yatai in a match that could prove decisive in the fight against relegation from the Chinese Super League.

Wuhan currently sit rock-bottom of the Chinese top flight, four points adrift of their next opponents, and will surely need to earn their third league win of the season on Saturday to have any chance of dragging themselves out of the drop zone.

The fixture could also have big ramifications for Shanghai Shenxin, who are the only team separating Wuhan and Changchun from safety.

Shenxin take on Beijing Guoan in their weekend outing, but will not have it easy against opponents locked in an intense battle for the final AFC Champions League spot.

Guoan, who became only the third team to take points off the league leaders this season when they drew with Guangzhou Evergrande last week, currently occupy third spot by virtue of goal difference,

However, fourth-placed Guizhou Renhe – who have also accumulated 30 points from their 19 games – will hope to leapfrog them with an away victory over Jiangsu Sainty.

Second-placed Shandong Luneng have a seven-point cushion ahead of that scrap, but suffered defeat to relegation-threatened Tianjin Teda last time out and will need to get back to winning ways against Shanghai Shenhua.

Looking upwards, Shandong’s chances of closing the 14-point gap to Evergrande at the top are slim, but they were given slight encouragement by the league leaders’ minor wobble against Beijing Guoan.

Marcello Lippi’s men will now be keen to put that behind them as they continue their bid for an unbeaten league season against the last team to achieve the feat in China – Dalian Aerbin.

Elsewhere in the CSL, Liaoning Whowin travel to fellow mid-table outfit Hangzhou, while ninth-placed Shanghai SIPG take on Guangzhou R&F at home.

And, fresh from their shock win over Shandong, Tianjin Teda will look for their fifth victory in six outings against Qingdao Jonoon, a result that would continue their miraculous rise up the standings.