Beijing Guoan vs Shandong Luneng Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Beijing Guoan look to have broken out of their poor run of form, but it could very well be too late for them. With just five games remaining in the Chinese Super League season, they find themselves in 5th position but six points adrift of 3rd and 4th place, with the former position granting qualification to the AFC Champions League.

It’s a spot they just missed out on last season as they finished 4th, but to narrowly miss out again would make for a very disappointing end to the season. The hope is still there, but they will have to be at the top of their game and have some luck to-boot.

Last time out they beat Yanbian Funde at home to make it four games without defeat for them, with two being draws and the other two ending in victory. Prior to that they had lost back to back games and were without a win in four matches.

Whilst Beijing Guoan’s season could end with mild disappointment, Shandong Luneng have had a disaster. They come into the final five fixtures all the way down in 13th position with just 27 points to their name, making for a significant drop in performance on their 3rd place finish last season.

This is largely thanks to a shocking spell of form towards the beginning of the Chinese Super League season, but even since they broke out of a ten match winless streak, they haven’t been up to scratch.

Shandong Luneng’s 2-1 loss at Henan Jianye last weeekend made it four games without a win for them, and away from home they have lost six of their last nine matches. With just four points between them and the relegation zone they need to be very careful in these closing stages, especially after the money they have spent bringing in the likes of Graziano Pelle and Papiss Cisse.

One thing the visitors haven’t been short of is goals. Eight of their last ten on the road have yielded at least three goals, with Shandong Luneng finding the net in nine of these ten games. Beijing Guoan have seen at least three goals in six of their last 11 at home as well, so backing Over 2.5 Goals at 19/20 looks good value for money. I’m expecting the hosts to take the points though, so I’m going for a 3-1 correct score prediction at 16/1 as well.