- Shandong Luneng Taishan FC are the in-form team with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in their last five Super League 2025 games.
- Shandong have 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats from 7 Super League 2025 away games.
- Henan FC have won 2 of their last 3 at home, scoring goals but conceding plenty.
Tactical contrast sets the stage for a tense match
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC sit above Henan FC in the Super League 2025 table by some distance, in sixth place on 21 points from 14 games, while the hosts have picked up 14 points in the same number of matches, putting them in 12th place.
Henan FC are the more defensive team of the two, setting up deep and compact, with a lot of discipline and pace on the counterattack when the game allows.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC are the opposite, pressing high up, playing a positive soccer game and trying to build up patiently from the back with their technical players moving fluidly.
The last meeting between the sides, in Super League 2025, finished 0-0 four months ago, but the two clubs have played out tight battles on several occasions since then.
Shandong Luneng Taishan FC have 3 Super League 2025 wins against Henan FC’s 1, with 2 draws in the pair’s last 6 meetings.
Back the draw in Henan
Daniel Ramos took over as Henan FC manager on the 30th of April, 2025, and has already instilled more grit and steel into the Henan FC team, who have responded with a strong run of form in the last 5 games, winning 3, drawing 1 and losing 1, including a 3-2 home win over Zhejiang Professional FC last weekend.
Shandong have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 3 in their 7 Super League 2025 away games, while Henan have 2 wins and 5 losses from 7 home matches this season.
The bookmakers make Shandong the favorites at 1.62, with Henan the outsiders at 5.00 and the draw at 3.75. Given the gap between the teams in the table and the superior attacking quality of Shandong, the bookmakers have this right, but with the hosts on a run of results and scoring goals, I think they will have enough about them to make this a close contest.
Goals the play
Felippe Cardoso is on fire for Henan, having scored 4 of the club’s last 11 goals in the club’s recent five outings. He is, however, only behind Frank Acheampong in the scoring charts, with the Ghanaian leading the way with 4 in 14 matches.
Valeri Qazaishvili is the main goal threat for Shandong, netting 8 league goals in 13 appearances this season. Qazaishvili is on a hot streak, having scored 4 of the team’s 11 goals in their past 5 games.
With Shandong boss Kang-Hee Choi, who has been in charge since May 2023, preferring a more creative and positive style, they should have enough about them to grab a win here. However, with the teams’ different styles and Henan’s recent resurgence, this could go either way and with both teams showing they can be leaky at the back and having attacking players who can find the net, I will be taking over 2.5 goals as my top pick for this match.
