Two sides who could definitely do with a victory square up at the Wuhua County Olympic Sports Centre on Wednesday, as Meizhou Hakka play host to Cangzhou Mighty Lions.
The teams are currently separated by one place and one point in the league table ahead of what should be an enthralling affair.
Match preview
Cangzhou snapped a two-game losing streak courtesy of a 1-1 draw against Beijing Guoan at the Wuhua Hengpi Football Town on Saturday.
Svetozar Sapuric's men broke the deadlock early on through Shihao Piao before they were pegged back in the 84th minute by Yuning Zhang's penalty.
Despite dropping to 13th place in the Chinese Super League table, the Mighty Lions are now three points clear of the relegation zone.
Next up is a crunch clash versus an opposing side who have only won one of the last seven meetings between the teams dating back to 2017.
Off the back of two defeats in their last three outings on the road, Wednesday's visitors set out to turn things around away from home and record a first win since the opening weekend of the season.
Meizhou Hakka were beaten for the first time this term following a 1-0 loss to Tianjin Jinmen Tiger at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium.
Farley Rosa's 13th-minute strike proved to be the all-important winner, as Milan Ristic's men failed to find the back of the net for the second game running.
The Wuhua-based side are currently 12th in the standings, and a defeat in their next outing would see them leapfrogged by their opponents.
Having failed to win any of their last five home games, Wednesday's hosts will be eager to end this barren streak in front of their fans and get themselves back on track.
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Team News
Xueming Liang is a major doubt for this one after he was hauled off with an injury 32 minutes into Meizhou Hakka's loss to Tianjin.
Nunez Bravo had to make do with a place on the bench in the aforementioned game, but a recall to the starting XI could be on the cards here.
Shihao Piao marked his return to action with a first-ever goal for Cangzhou last time out, and the midfielder heads into Wednesday's game with the wind in his sails.
Twenty-one-year-old Xiangshuo Zhang will be pushing for a start in this one after making his debut for the season last time out.
Meizhou Hakka possible starting lineup:
Hou; Chen, Bravo, Dugalic, Liao; Shi, Kosovic; Yang, Henrique, Li; Vukanovic
Cangzhou Mighty Lions possible starting lineup:
Shao; Yang, Yang, Zhang; Piao, Lin, Zheng, Yang; Taty Maritu, Iskandar, Ma
We say: Meizhou Hakka 1-0 Cangzhou Mighty Lions
Cangzhou have struggled in front of goal of late, and we can see that trend continuing here. That said, Meizhou have not been particularly great in attack either, but we fancy them to scrape a narrow win come the sound of the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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