By Shay Giles for FC Insider
With the Chinese Super League entering its final phase of the season, all the clubs will be wanting to finish strongly with the title, AFC Champions League and relegation spots still all to play for.
The much fancied Guangzhou Evergrande who are five times consecutive league winners and were favourites at the start of the season to win a sixth straight title have struggled of late with only one win in five matches. This poor run of form has allowed Jiangsu Suning the chance to win their first maiden title with Guangzhou Evergrande’s lead cut only to 6 points with 7 games to play.
Jiangsu Suning’s summer acquisitions of Jeong-Ho Hong and Roger Martinez from Augsburg and Racing Club respectively have really helped to boost their chances of an unlikely title win.
The two Shanghai clubs Shanghai SIPG and Shanghai Shenhua have a great chance of finishing in the third and final Asian Champion league spot, with newly promoted club Hebei CFFC also in the frame.
Former Manchester City, Real Madrid and Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini has taken up the reigns at Hebei CFFC and replacing up and coming manager Li Tie. Their squad is brimming with foreign talent such as Stephane M’Bia, Gervinho, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Gael Kakuta aswell as Chinese talent like Dong Xuesheng, Gao Zhunyi and Ding Haiefing.
The newcomers have a decent chance of finishing in third place with Shanghia Shenhua losing top goal scorer Demba Ba to a season ending injury, while Shanghai SIPG have been struggling with injuries of their own to key players Dario Conca and club record singing Hulk.
Beijing Guoan have had a disappointing season, flirting with relegation and mid table obscurity and find themselves back in 9th place. The Beijing side lost key players in Shao Jiayi through retirement, Batalla to Turkish club Bursaspor and long standing midfielder Darko Matic to fellow Super League club Changchun Yatai.
Gregorio Manzano left the Bejing club and was replaced by the Italian Alberto Zaccheroni. The Italians reign didn’t last long with him being sacked only 10 games into his season. With two games in hand on most clubs in the league, they are 12 points behind 3rd place Shanghai Shenhua, if Bejing Guoan win their next two games in hand they could push for 3rd place in what has been a severely disappointing season so far for them.
Five time winners Shangdong Luneng have also struggled this campaign and sacked their coach Mano Menezes after their poor start and replaced him with Felix Magath. Luneng’s form since the appointment of their new manger has improved and they look set to stay in the CSL since its inception.
Tae-Ha Parks Yanbian Funde have been a surprise package along with fellow promoted team Hebei CFFC. After not spending the tens of millions their rivals have spent, they have a solid core in which to build off. The Korean duo Seung-Da kim and Bit-garam Yoon have become very influential for their club and they find themselves in 8th positon above Shangdong and Bejing, while the latter of the Korean duo has earned himself a national team call up.
In the two relegation spots are Shijiazhuang Ever Bright and Changchun Yatai and for them it’s looking bleak. Tianjin Teda another team in the mix for relegation are 4 and 5 points above the relegation zone in 14th place in the 16 team league and have one game in hand.
Helped by their new coach Jamie Pacheco who has CSL experience after managing Bejing Guoan, Tianjin look like they will have enough to stave of relegation. On the other hand Shijiazhuang and Changchun look to be relegated after their inconsistencies seem to have cost them.
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