Guangzhou Evergrande VS Hebei CFFC Match Prediction
- 2017-06-25
- 11:35:00
Guangzhou Evergrande will win this match.
Since Hebei China Fortune's induction into the Chinese Super League last season, they have not scored against Guangzhou Evergrande. The champions won 2-0 at home and 3-0 away in last season's league fixtures, before winning this week's FA Cup game 1-0.
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Guangzhou Evergrande have been in superb form once again this season, but then under Luiz Felipe Scolari they have never been anything less than that. Since their early-season defeat to Shandong Luneng, Guanzhou have bounced back in style and have now won their last nine consecutive league games - a run that shows no sign of ending any time soon.
Their three overseas players have all proved superb investments, with Paulinho running the show in the middle and Ricardo Goulart and Alan scoring plenty and creating loads of chances. Defensively they have been assured too, with clean sheets in three of their last five matches.
Both sides chose to rotate their squads for the midweek cup defeat, and Hebei China Fortune playing nearly an hour with ten men, after Zhao Yuhao's sending off, was clearly a decisive factor.
But at full strength, it is hard to look beyond Guangzhou grabbing another win against Manuel Pellegrini's side on Sunday.
Pellegrini has welcomed back Stephane M'Bia to the midfield, and he could prove a decisive factor, while Ezequiel Lavezzi has been a creative force this season with eight assists in the league so far.
But Guangzhou enjoy a great head-to-head record against Hebei China Fortune in their three matches so far, and with home advantage as well - a ground on which they have been simply formidable in the Chinese Super League, and have not lost since in any competition since 2015 - you have to back a home win.
Guangzhou Evergrande are favourites to win, unsurprisingly, but Betfair are offering 4/9 on a home victory.
Betfair are also the best price on both teams to score, at 4/5, but given Hebei China Fortune have failed to score in their three previous fixtures against Guangzhou, it may be better to back 'no' at evens with the same bookmaker.
A repeat of Guangzhou Evergrande's 1-0 victory in midweek is 13/2 with Betfair, while a 2-0 home win is available for the same price.
Zheng Long was Guangzhou's matchwinner in the Chinese FA Cup tie with Hebei China Fortune in midweek, but the Chinese wide-man is likely to be benched on Sunday. Linpeng Zhang replaced Shangyuan Wang at right-back in their last league game, while Fang Mei returned at centre-back.
Guangzhou Evergrande's attacking strength has come to the fore again this year, with Brazilian striker Ricardo Goulart directly involved in 23 goals in just 22 games this season. Goulart has scored 14 and assisted nine, putting him four ahead of fellow Brazilian Alan in the goalscoring charts. The third Brazilian in the team, Paulinho, has been pulling the strings in midfield.
Guangzhou Evergrande have lost just one of their last five matches, but a 2-1 defeat in Japan to Kashima Antlers was still enough to progress on away goals in the Asian Champions League. Since then, Guangzhou have beaten Yanbian Funde and Guizhou Zhicheng in the league, before their 1-0 win against Hebei China Fortune in the cup in midweek.
Goalkeeper:Zeng Cheng
Defenders:Zhang Linpeng, Mei Fang, Feng Xiaoting, Zou Zheng
Midfielders:Xu Jin, Paulinho
Attacking Midfielders:Liao Lisheng, Ricardo Goulart, Alan
Forwards:Gao Lin
Zhao Yuhao's sending off in the midweek cup defeat to Guangzhou, after picking up two yellow cards in as many minutes, badly let his team down. Having missed the last league game anyway, Manuel Pellegrini must now decide whether to stick with an extra striker in Hong Gui, or play Hang Li alongside Stephane Mbia in defensive midfield. Given Guangzhou's attacking threat, and Pellegrini's preference for the 4-2-3-1 system, it is likely to be the latter option..
Argentinian Ezequiel Lavezzi has set up more goals in the Chinese Super League this season than any other player, with eight assists to his name. Brazilian forward Aloisio is Hebei China Fortune's top scorer, meanwhile, having netted seven times in the league.
Hebei China Fortune's midweek FA Cup defeat to Guangzhou Evergrande ended a run of eight games without losing for Manuel Pellegrini's side. They had previously won their last four league games, including last weekend's 1-0 home win against Tianjin Quanjian.
Goalkeeper:Cheng Yang
Defenders:Mingjian Zhao, Yangyang Jin, Ren Hang, Jiang Wenjun
Midfielders:M’Bia, Hang Li
Attacking Midfielders:Zhang Chengdong, Lavezzi, Yin Hingbo
Forwards:Aloisio