Tongliang Long Winless in Seven, Mineiro Suspended, Chen Jinyi Injured, Milojevic Urgently Needs Points to Stop Slide

At 19:00 on September 6, Chongqing Tongliang Long will host Shanghai Shenhua in a key Chinese Super League Round 26 battle for eighth place at Chongqing Longxing Football Stadium. CCTV Sports Events Channel will provide a full live broadcast of the match.

Before the match, Chongqing Tongliang Long sit eighth with 31 points, while Shanghai Shenhua rank ninth with 28 points. The teams are separated by only three points. The 2-2 draw in the first meeting at Shenhua's home ground means this return fixture will directly determine the head-to-head advantage if they finish level on points, making defeat unacceptable for either side.

A series of unexpected squad changes before the match have made an already tight mid-table battle even more uncertain.

On September 4, the Chinese Football Association's Discipline and Ethics Committee issued a punishment. Shenhua foreign player Shalao Mineiro was given an additional three-match suspension and fined 15,000 yuan after being sent off directly for kicking an opponent's leg while the ball was not in play during the FA Cup quarter-final against Dalian Yingbo.

Because Shenhua had already been eliminated, the automatic one-match suspension from the red card was canceled, while the additional three-match ban was transferred across competitions to the Chinese Super League. Mineiro will miss three consecutive league matches against Chongqing Tongliang Long, Yunnan Yukun and Wuhan Three Towns.

Earlier, Shenhua winger Chen Jinyi suffered a partial tear of the right ligament in the CSL match against Shandong Taishan and is expected to recover in four to six weeks. The starting full-back in all of the team's first 25 league rounds this season has left a significant gap in Shenhua's wide defensive and attacking system.

Milojevic's first four matches in charge of Shenhua produced only one win and three losses. The team not only suffered a surprise 0-1 defeat to China League One side Dalian Yingbo despite having an 11-against-10 advantage in the FA Cup, but also lost 2-3 at home to Shandong Taishan in the previous CSL round after conceding nine seconds into the match. Seven players suffered cramps during the game, and three more key players were added to the injury list afterward.

At the start of the season, Shenhua were deducted 10 points by officials due to historical debt issues, but the team still escaped the relegation zone early. After 25 rounds, they are eight points behind fifth-placed Shandong Taishan and have completely lost the points foundation needed to challenge for AFC Champions League qualification places.

With five league matches remaining, Shenhua must complete the mandatory requirement of 1,800 cumulative minutes for U21 domestic players in the CSL, avoiding a three-point deduction for failing to meet the target. They also need to preserve fitness for their AFC Champions League Two opener on September 17, leaving their squad planning options extremely limited with multiple objectives combined.

At a time when the squad has repeatedly lost players, team-following reporters confirmed that young forward Liu Chengyu, who had been absent for a long period due to injury, has basically recovered and traveled with the team to Chongqing for the match squad.

However, Liu Chengyu has different technical characteristics from Mineiro, and after such a long absence his competitive condition still needs to gradually return through training sessions and substitute appearances. He cannot immediately replace the attacking option left by Mineiro.

Milojevic had regularly used Mineiro as a second-half attacking option, relying on his speed to attack opponents' defenses. But this key option is now unavailable. Shenhua will travel to Chongqing with only four available foreign players: Asue, Laton, Manafa and Teixeira, greatly reducing their attacking alternatives.

Before the match, internal discussions also emerged regarding squad adjustments. Without relegation pressure, the coaching staff suggested appropriately rotating some older players and giving U21 players more first-team opportunities, easing the current injury pressure while preparing for future multi-competition scheduling.

However, Xie Pengfei, Xu Haoyang and Yang Zexiang have no officially confirmed injury reports. The current first-team squad can still meet normal selection requirements for this match, and the final starting lineup will depend on the final pre-match training condition.

Manafa's position is one of the main points of debate in Shenhua's tactical adjustments. Previously using him at left-back clearly wasted his attacking qualities, and moving him back to his familiar right side for this match has become the widely recognized better choice.

On the other side, Chongqing Tongliang Long are also facing a difficult situation.

The team have gone seven matches without a win in all competitions. Their last CSL victory came back on June 27 in Round 16.

Head coach Liu Jianye's 541 defensive counterattacking system, used since the start of the season, helped the team rise near the top of the table early on. However, the system has been fully studied by the league in the second half of the season, causing their attacking efficiency to fall sharply. They have scored only 26 goals in 25 league matches, the weakest attacking record in the 2026 CSL.

As Chongqing captain and a local top scorer in two consecutive China League One seasons, Xiang Yuwang has made 23 CSL appearances this season, including 16 starts, playing 1,412 minutes and scoring only three goals with no assists. His scoring rate dropped from 0.62 goals per game in China League One to 0.11 in the CSL, a decline of about 82%.

In the FA Cup away match against Yunnan Yukun on September 2, which ended in a 0-1 defeat, Xiang Yuwang came on as a substitute in the 53rd minute. His mistake controlling the ball in the defensive area in the 73rd minute directly led to the opponent's goal, and he was replaced by Du Yuezhen after only 25 minutes on the pitch.

U23 national team head coach Antonio was in the stands scouting young players. After the match, Liu Jianye publicly explained that the substitution was only a tactical decision and that the current formation did not suit Xiang Yuwang's position, rather than being a denial of his ability. The statement also acknowledged that within the 541 system, Xiang has neither a suitable position nor enough tactical support.

Returning home to face Shenhua with pressure from seven winless matches, if Liu Jianye continues with a conservative 541 setup, not only may home supporters be dissatisfied, but young national-team-level players like Xiang Yuwang may remain restricted by the tactical system.

In the two previous meetings between the teams, Chongqing Tongliang Long have recorded 0 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, scoring two goals and conceding four, while Shenhua have remained unbeaten with one win and one draw.

In the first meeting at Shenhua's home ground, Chongqing scored after nine minutes and once led by two goals. Shenhua only managed to equalize late in the match. Shenhua won 11 corners and held 63% possession, dominating the match, but even with an extra player they could not complete a comeback before the final whistle and Manafa was sent off in stoppage time.

Meeting again, Shenhua are playing their second consecutive away match within a week, with fitness and morale at a low point. Chongqing return home with the advantage of Longxing Football Stadium, and the pressure of seven winless matches may instead inspire an exceptional performance.

After this match, the CSL will enter a roughly one-month break. Shenhua will return to Shanghai to prepare for their AFC Champions League Two opener on September 17, when they host Singapore's Tampines Rovers.

For the two coaches Milojevic and Liu Jianye, neither side can afford another defeat in this home-and-away positioning battle. Their tactical adjustments and starting selections will directly determine the outcome of this crucial fight for eighth place.