Shandong Taishan vs Shanghai SIPG Prediction: Will The Red Eagles Be Able To Continue With Their Goal Production Against The Taishan Dui Defense?

Shandong Taishan will play hosts' to Shanghai SIPG at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium for the Super League's 20th matchday.

While Shanghai SIPG has been on a scoring streak, will Shandong Taishan be able to stop them, or will their incredible five-match unbeaten run come to an end?

Form: WDWWD

Living true to their title as defending champions in the Super League, they plowed their way to a 3-0 victory at home against Guangzhou Evergrande, but despite their success, there is still a void that needs to be filled as they continue to strive for first place.

Their form has been solid enough to see them on a five-match unbeaten run in which 11 points have been gained while demonstrating commendable offensive and defensive features in which 5 goals have been surrendered while netting a whopping 13 goals.

The Taishan Dui are second in the Super League rankings, 10 points ahead of their guests, with 50 points. They have remained steadfast in decreasing the point gap seen between them and first place without hesitation, as they are only 4 points away from a first place finish.

Form: WWLWW

While they've been relentlessly pursuing their own agenda in the Super League, they recently recorded a 7-0 thrilling victory at home against Meizhou Hakka to take all three points on the spot.

The Red Eagles have clearly been an offspring of goals, with their previous five matches in the Super League attesting to that theory, as they've netted a total of 16 goals while surrendering 2 goals, not to mention their 12 points acquired from four wins and one loss.

With no time to rest as an adamant Shanghai Shenhua keeps knocking them down in the standings, they find themselves in fourth position with 40 points and are just one point away from overtaking them as they sit in third place with 41 points.

Since the hosts don't like to be treated like pushovers, they will have to tread carefully this time. While they may feel like they have an advantage to demonstrate their impressive offensive skills, a defensive strategy should also be emphasized in this matchup to prevent a disastrous outcome that could be their undoing.

• Shanghai SIPG is undefeated in their past five away games in the Super League.
• Shandong Taishan has not lost in their last six home games against Shanghai SIPG.
• The average number of goals scored in matches between Shandong Taishan and Shanghai SIPG is 2.6.
• When playing at home, Shandong Taishan scores 1.65 goals on average, while Shanghai SIPG scores 1.67 goals on average when playing away.

Shandong Taishan has won 8 of the last 18 matches; Shanghai SIPG has won 5; and there have been 5 draws, with a goal difference of 27-24 in favour of Shandong Taishan.

Shandong Taishan may find their visitors to be a fairly competitive opponent, and a back-and-forth battle at the start of the game is definitely on the cards. Putting out an offensive approach is out of the question, as defense will not be a major focus as they look to collect three points.

Shanghai SIPG have regained some confidence in their new effective strategy, which has seen them become a scoring force, and this should send shivers down the spines of any teams they come across as to how far they'll go with their newly discovered attacking prowess.

Shanghai SIPG have more than enough talent on their bench to compete at the same level as the hosts, so despite being considered underdogs, that should not derail them from extending their winning streak and adding to the tally an additional three points.

While recent encounters between these two formidable teams have been entertaining, we do anticipate an evenly matched contest when they square off, and goals are to be expected either way as a result. The initial pick for this matchup is to bet on a total over as 4 of their last 5 meetings have seen more than 2 goals scored.

• Goals - Over 2.5 for 1.95
• Corners - Over 8.5 for 1.69
• Both Teams To Score (Yes) for 1.73