Shanghai Shenhua Coach Says 'Away Match Will Be Difficult'; Fans Say Chongqing Tongliang Long Have Gone Seven Games Without a Win

In the 26th round of the Chinese Super League, Milojevic said at the pre-match press conference: "Tomorrow's (September 6) away match will undoubtedly be very difficult. I hope our players can rise to the challenge." Fans analyzed Chongqing Tongliang Long's results over the past two months and said the team has gone seven matches without a win.

After Chongqing Tongliang Long defeated Qingdao West Coast 2-0 in the FA Cup on July 21, the team's form declined sharply. They lost 0-1 away to Wuhan Three Towns, lost 0-2 away to Shenzhen, lost 2-3 at home to Shanghai Port, lost 0-1 away to Qingdao West Coast, lost 0-1 at home to Dalian Yingbo, drew away against Henan, and lost 0-1 away to Yunnan Yukun in the FA Cup.

Of course, Shenhua's current form is also not good. Milojevic has coached four matches and lost three of them. A record of three defeats and one win is not ideal, with little visible change. Some players have also suffered injuries, and there have been continued issues with the formation, including the decision to use Manafa in a left-side adjustment. Like Chongqing Tongliang Long, they failed to reach the FA Cup semifinals. Shenhua's injury list has now added Chen Jinyi. This year's Shenhua, like Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan, have been hit heavily by injuries. In the first half of the season, they suffered similar injury problems, but Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan benefited from the fact that their injured players could return quickly after a period of recovery.

There are only five league rounds remaining, but players such as Jiang Shenglong, Li Ke and Jin Shunkai, who have not been ruled out for the season, appear unlikely to play in the remaining league matches. In the FA Cup, Mineiro lost control of his emotions and received an additional suspension following a red card. As fans said, Shenhua's players this season have been caught in a cycle of injuries, with injuries plus yellow and red card suspensions continuing without stopping. This has happened even without competing on three fronts. When the pressure of playing twice a week increases, it is either a red card or an injury.

According to the Chinese Football Association's arrangements, Jia Zhiliang will referee the match between Chongqing Tongliang Long and Shenhua, while Li Haixin will serve as the VAR referee. For Shenhua, even a win would not move them into the top five, while a defeat would not put them in a relegation situation. At present, whether they can advance from the AFC Champions League Two group stage may be more important than their league situation of neither moving up nor down. If they advance in the AFC Champions League Two, they will still have knockout matches in the competition next year. If they fail to advance from the group stage, they will truly have no Asian-level matches to play next year.