Beijing Guoan vs Shandong Taishan Prediction: Turning The Attention To Corners In This Encounter

On the 22nd matchday of the Super League, Beijing Guoan will host Shandong Taishan at the Rizhao International Football Centre Stadium with the goal of breaking another streak.

Will Shandong Taishan prove to be a challenging opponent to break down, or will Beijing Guoan replicate the same outcome they did when they recorded a 1-0 victory over Shanghai SIPG?

Form: WDWDL

The Imperial Guards were once again on the frontlines in their recent away match against Shanghai SIPG, where they kept a clean sheet and cruised to a 1-0 victory thanks to Tianyi's goal in the 22nd minute.

After ending the Red Eagles' three-match winning streak, they are far from done shattering their opponents' dreams as they face the visitors, who have been in excellent form and will be looking to halt their streak on home turf.

The sole stumbling block has been goal difference, which has kept them from finishing in eighth place, as they are level on points with eighth-placed Meizhou Hakka, who have 30 points.

Form: WWDLW

After trailing by a goal going into the second half of their recent match against Meizhou Hakka, they were able to find a breakthrough and pull off a comeback that secured the three points they had desperately sought, finishing the day on a 2-1 scoreline.

While they have now won two consecutive games, they have also managed to narrowly catch up to the table leaders in first place, as only four points now separates them. They sit in second place with 46 points and will now monitor their route to avoid dropping points along the way.

Their form in the last five matches has been good, as they have collected 10 points while dropping five, and they have utilized their attacking potential, scoring 10 goals while keeping one clean sheet.

• Beijing Guoan haven't scored in 2 of their past 5 home games in the Super League.
• Shandong Taishan has lost one of their last five super league games to Beijing Guoan.
• The average number of goals scored in matches between Beijing Guoan and Shandong Taishan is 3.4.
• When playing at home, Beijing Guoan averages 1.29 goals per game, while Shandong Taishan averages 2 goals per game when playing away.

In the last 31 meetings, Beijing Guoan has won 7 times, Shandong Taishan has won 10 times and there have been 14 draws, with the goal difference being 48-40 in favour of Shandong Taishan.

Shandong Taishan have been slowly marking their time to overthrow the table leaders, and with the time closing in, there's no reason for them to abandon their impressive performance that has led to them being only four points away from first place, and while they aren't up against a weak opponent, they are expected to hold their ground as well.

Beijing Guoan may feel the need to move up in the Super League standings, so securing three points will be their top priority going into this match. With home field advantage, they'll be more than motivated to stop the visitors from moving forward in an effort to contain them, and there's a chance that they could pull off yet another surprise.

Since Shandong Taishan's objective in this matchup is to close up the four point gap in a bid of a first place finish, bookmakers have made them the favorites, and since they are an offensive team, we anticipate this to end up being an entertaining matchup.

But Beijing Guoan could pull off a fast one as they are also a threat in the final third of the field. To prevent any surprises, we anticipate this match to be filled with plenty of corners; an over 9 corner total should be sufficient in this case.

• Corners - Over 9 for 2.10
• Both Teams To Score (Yes) for 1.80
• Goals - Over 2.5 for 1.76