Shanghai Shenhua Have 10 Matches Left This Year: 4 Chinese Super League Games and 6 AFC Champions League Two Matches. How Many Can They Win?

On September 11, Shanghai Shenhua regrouped at the Juss Event Kangqiao Training Base to prepare for their first AFC Champions League Two match. After being eliminated by Dalian Yingbo in the Chinese FA Cup, Shenhua now have only four league matches remaining, along with six AFC Champions League Two games.

The opening match of the new AFC Champions League Two season, a home game against a Singapore club, can be described as a tough battle because Shenhua only had four matches of preparation time. Wu Xi, Zhu Chenjie, and Yang Haoyu will miss the match, meaning Shenhua's strongest center-back options and midfield players are unavailable. The team will have to rely on players including Teixeira, Gao Tianyi, Wang Haijian, Xu Haoyang, and Xie Pengfei. At the same time, Latang is serving a suspension carried over from the previous season, while full-back Chen Jinyi is still recovering from injury. After playing in the AFC Champions League Two match, Gao Tianyi will join the national team training camp. Gao Tianyi has currently recorded 10 assists, behind Yunnan Yukun's Jonica and Zhejiang FC's Mitritza. According to the schedule, he will not be able to return before October 8 at the earliest.

Therefore, although Milos Milojevic has time during the international break, he does not have his key players available to work on his tactics. According to the October schedule, Shenhua will play five matches: hosting Yunnan Yukun on October 10, traveling to Cambodia to face Svay Rieng on October 15, playing Wuhan Three Towns away on October 18, visiting Shenzhen Peng City on October 24, and hosting Machida Zelvia, the strongest opponent in their AFC Champions League Two group stage, on October 29. October will be Shenhua's difficult stretch, with two matches in one week. In such an intense schedule, injuries are unavoidable if the team does not rotate its squad. Fortunately, Shenhua have already secured safety from relegation and are under no pressure to win the title. While protecting key players, they can give young players opportunities. Milojevic also has a relatively rich coaching background, having managed teams in the Serbian SuperLiga, Saudi league, and Greek Super League. His biggest achievement was coaching Red Star Belgrade, where he led more than 250 matches with a win rate above 70 percent.

However, in his five matches with Shenhua so far, he has won two and lost three, with the most important setback being elimination from the FA Cup. The article's view is that considering the team's current ability to handle injuries, there is no need to force through unnecessary difficulties. Otherwise, if more players are injured in October, it could affect the winter training in January next year. Perhaps 2027 will be the best time for Shenhua to rise again.