Shenhua: Hoping for Derby revenge and eager to turn points positive

Special contribution/Gan Hui On April 11, the first "Shanghai Derby" of the 2026 CSL season will be held at Shenhua's home ground, Shanghai Stadium. In this league round, both Shenhua and Shanghai Port managed to win with difficult last-gasp strikes.

In recent years, Shenhua and Shanghai Port have consistently ranked near the top of the league table, making the "Shanghai Derby" often a "title-deciding Derby." However, this season, affected by point deductions, both teams are temporarily in the lower-middle part of the standings. Moreover, both sides are currently plagued by injuries, which will inevitably impact their competitiveness.

Over a month ago, for the Super Cup, Shenhua's head coach Slutsky traveled from Shanghai to Nanjing with some members of his coaching staff to watch Shanghai Port's Super Cup match against Beijing Guoan live.

Slutsky has generally adopted a strategy focused on his own team's personnel and tactics. His decision to attend the Super Cup live indicates, from one perspective, his attention to Shanghai Port and Beijing Guoan.

In the last two seasons, the championship rivalry between Shenhua and Shanghai Port has become one of the league's talking points, especially in the 2024 season. Also, in these seasons, the first head-to-head clash between Shenhua and Shanghai Port has consistently been scheduled in April.

In the 2024 season's 8th round, Shenhua faced Shanghai Port away. Before this match, Shenhua had 6 wins and 1 draw from 7 games, while Shanghai Port had 4 wins and 2 draws from 6 matches (their 7th round was postponed), both teams remaining unbeaten.

In the 2025 season, the first encounter between Shenhua and Shanghai Port was arranged in the 5th round, again at Shanghai Port's home. After 4 rounds, both Shenhua and Shanghai Port had 3 wins and 1 draw, also maintaining an unbeaten record.

Entering the 2026 season, due to point deductions, the two teams' positions on the table are completely different from the previous two seasons. Moreover, on the pitch, both sides, for various reasons, have lost the dominance they showed in the past two seasons, especially Shanghai Port, which suffered its worst start in recent seasons: first losing the Super Cup to Beijing Guoan, then recording 1 win and 2 losses in the first three league rounds, falling to Henan Team and Dalian Yingbo. In this round against Yunnan Yukun at home, Shanghai Port only won 2-1 with a goal in the final moments. From these rounds, Shanghai Port no longer possesses the absolute advantage it had against mid-to-lower-tier teams in the past two seasons.

Shenhua, meanwhile, has been severely troubled by injuries. Since the season's opening round, the team has faced continuous injury issues, unable to field its strongest lineup, seriously affecting its combat effectiveness and performance. Especially in away matches against Zhejiang Team and Beijing Guoan, Shenhua had to play with depleted squads, significantly hampering the team's fighting power and overall performance.

On the 5th, facing Tianjin Jinmen Tiger who were in poor form, Shenhua won very perilously. For most of the match, Shenhua's midfield was largely out of control. By the 80th minute, Shenhua was still trailing 1-2. After substitution adjustments, with players like Xie Pengfei entering, Shenhua gradually gained control and scored two consecutive goals in the final stage to reverse the match 3-2.

After four league rounds, Shenhua stands at -2 points, temporarily ranked 14th on the table, while Shanghai Port has 1 point, ranking 9th. Both teams are in the lower-middle part of the standings. Therefore, to some extent, this Derby match is indeed the "lowest Derby."

After a half-month break, although Gui, Wu Xi, and Li Ke returned from injury in the match against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, all three were substituted off later. Moreover, from the game, Li Ke and others did not reach their optimal condition. Regarding the next round's Derby against Shanghai Port, Shenhua likely still cannot field a full-strength lineup.

For this round's away match against Tianjin Jinmen Tiger, Shenhua only had three foreign players—Gui, Latang, and Manafa—traveling to Tianjin; Teixeira and Mineiro stayed in Shanghai for injury recovery. Additionally, Wu Qipeng, injured during U19 national team training, was also absent. Slutsky commented on the team's injury situation: "Wu Qipeng suffered an injury during training with the U19 national team and returned early to the club for treatment. Teixeira and Mineiro are currently actively recovering."

Last season, Shenhua lost 1-2 to Shanghai Port at home. For Shenhua, that defeat meant not only losing 3 points but also losing主动权 in the championship race between the two teams.

This weekend's rematch undoubtedly offers Shenhua a good chance to avenge last season's home loss. Although Shanghai Port's league points have turned positive after their home last-minute win against Yunnan Yukun, following personnel adjustments in the new season, Shanghai Port still faces磨合 issues, especially a weakened midfield control. Additionally, Shanghai Port also has injury troubles; Jiang Guangtai remains unavailable due to injury.

Shenhua needs a Derby victory to further boost the team's morale and also needs a win to quickly turn its points positive, escaping the尴尬 of being near the bottom of the table.