Beijing Guoan vs Shandong Luneng Match Preview

Beijing Guoan finished the regular season at the second spot just four points behind Shanghai SIPG but they never put in doubt the fact for qualifying in the play offs. Their previous game against Shandong Luneng ended in a 2-2 draw but Beijing could have won that duel if they were a little bit more lucky. They dominated their rival in every aspect having 65% possession while creating 20 goal opportunities from which 10 on goal. Shandong had two shots on goal and scored on both.

If Beijing Guoan plays again like that I doubt they would be this unlucky twice in a row. This season they had the best offensive side during the regular season with 36 goals in 14 games from which 21 while playing at home.

Shandong Luneng, on the other side, managed to finish at the third spot in their group but there was no real competition there. While it is true they have shown a very solid defense conceding only 11 goals, they also lacked a powerful attack as they scored 19 goals having the second worst attack among the teams who managed to qualify for the play offs. And we saw it in the previous game against Beijing Guoan how much their defense suffered, while the attack lead by Pelle wasn't enough.

Even for this duel Pelle is expected to start but I doubt they are going to be able to create chances for him. They got five wins and two draws in seven games on the road during the regular season but that could come to an end.

In conclusion, I think Beijing Guoan can win this match or get at least a draw. They are favorites to win here as they are the better team and in fact their foreign players are of a higher quality when compared to their rivals. Bakambu, Viera and Roberto Augusto compose the solid base of this team and they should be of big help. Shangong Luneng relies mostly on the Italian Pelle, but there is not much he can do alone.