Chinese Superleague title decided in the final round

The Chinese Superleague has almost ran its course, with the last round looming in the beginning of December. After 29 rounds played, the top of Superleague is manned by Guangzhou Evergrande, looking to reclaim their throne after being pushed aside last season by Shanghai SIPG.

Guangzhou had won seven championships in a row and dominated Chinese football until last season. Challenger Beijing Guoan is chasing Guangzhou only two points behind come last round.

Guanghzou is facing Shanghai Shenhua in the last round. Shenhua is at the lower mid table 13th, but safe from relegation and have nothing really to play for. They have also lost four games in a row and are not in the best of forms, although they have a couple of internationally recognized players like Giovanni Moreno, who has scored 11 goals and Odion Ighalo, who has 10 to his name.

Guanghzou is regarded as one of the giants of the Chinese Superleague and while teams like Shanghai SIPG and Dalian Yifang have started to invest in their teams more, Guanghzou is still by far the most successful team in China. Interestingly enough, this season Guanghzou mostly features Chinese players, in addition to trio of Brazilians Elkeson, Talisca and Paulinho. A point from their final fixture will secure them the eight title in nine seasons.

The challengers Beijing Guoan is also a major player in the Chinese Superleague. They won their last championship in 2009, but have been runners up three times since, including last season. The team is also composed mostly of Chinese players, but arguably their best players are foreigners. Leading the scoring race are Renato Augusto with 14 goals and Cedric Bakambu with 10.

With 67 points they are two points behind the leaders and have already secured at least the second position and qualification to AFC Champions League. Their opponents Shandong Luneng have had a disappointing season and they no longer have a chance to move up from the fourth position, although they can fall fifth behind Jiangsu Suning if they lose and Suning wins.