On April 5, in the fourth round of the Chinese Super League, the first Qilu derby will be played at the Youth Stadium, and the two sides are Qingdao Manatee team at home against Shandong Taishan team.
Neither team has been strong in the last three months. The two-front Taishan team played five games in March, and except for a 4-2 home win over Changchun Yatai in the first round of the league, it has been winless in four consecutive games. In the Chinese Super League standings, with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, it temporarily ranked 7th and withdrew from the first group of the league championship. Qingdao Manatee is even more miserable, not scoring a goal in the first three rounds of the league, not winning a game, and ranking at the bottom of the standings.
Both teams are in desperate need of a win to break the deadlock and turn around, and if Shandong Taishan wants to return to the first group of the championship, the six games in April are very crucial, so Shandong Taishan are very eager to use this victory to get off to a good start in April. In order to be relegated, the Qingdao Manatees want to win the game at home and boost the morale of the whole team. Therefore, this Qilu derby will be a real confrontation between brothers.
The biggest dilemma facing the Shandong Taishan team is that the camp is full of injured soldiers, and at least 8 main players have suffered injuries or suspensions, which is also the biggest challenge that Cui Kangxi has faced since he coached the Taishan team.
The biggest recruit introduced by the Taishan team, Brazilian striker Zeka, has not played a game, and his return is far away. Liu Binbin and Wang Tong, due to their injuries, cannot return to the team for the time being. Top scorer Cressanin also had a leg problem in his last match against Shenhua. Shi Ke suffered a thigh strain in the previous AFC Champions League and was difficult to fully recover for a while. Midfielders Lee Won-il and Ko Jun-yi are not available for this game. Head coach Choi Kang-hee was overstretched, and the tactical system could not be implemented effectively.
It is gratifying that Fernando can be released from the ban in this game, and his return will relieve some of the pressure on Choi Kang-hee. There is also Cressan, who was injured in the last game, and also arrived in Qingdao with the team, which is also a big positive for the Taishan team, it seems that his injury is not serious, and he may appear in this game.
Since the start of this season, Qingdao Manatees have not won a game, losing to Chengdu away, Changchun at home, and losing to the West Coast in the same city derby, reaping a wave of three consecutive defeats. But it is not so easy for the Qingdao Manatees to seek a breakthrough from the game against the Taishan team.
Qingdao Manatees are also facing injury problems, and two foreign players, Diego and Saric, may miss this game. Although it occupies the home advantage, the players have a short run-in time, and they are facing the Shandong Taishan team that is much higher than their own strength, and if they want to win all three points, the Qingdao Manatee team has to rely on a certain amount of luck.
This game is very important for both teams, one wants to break through the deadlock, the other is eager to usher in a turnaround, Shandong Taishan and Qingdao Manatee, the two difficult brothers, who can realize their wishes, but also depends on the team's own strength.