Falling contenders Hebei China Fortune FC (10-10-5, 35 points) will square off with middling team Chongqing Lifan FC (8-10-7, 31 points) at the Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium on Friday, Sep. 23 as the 2016 Chinese Super League season winds down to its last few rounds.

Start Time and Streaming Info

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The game starts at 7:35 p.m. UTC+8. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.

Hebei China Fortune is on a downward spiral at the moment and even the hiring of new manager Manuel Pellegrini seemed to be unable to stop their descent in the standings. At the moment, the team is on a three-game losing streak and had been winless in nine of their last 10 matches to settle at fifth place in the overall standings.

They are only a point above sixth-place team Henan Jianye and two points ahead of seventh and eighth placers Beijing Guoan and Guangzhou R&F, which means that a few more losses and they are bound to drop down further in the 16-team China top flight table from being as high as second place in the first few weeks of the season.

Hebei suffered a disappointing 2-3 loss to Yanbian Funde last Saturday at the Yanji Nationwide Fitness Centre Stadium for their fifth consecutive winless performance.

ESPN reported that Pellegrini had admitted after the match that his team "must improve defensively" if they want to succeed in the Chinese first division competitions and it was the first thing he noticed with the Samba Kings during his debut game against Yanbian.

Meanwhile, Chongqing Lifan is slowly climbing further away from relegation with a 2-2 draw versus powerhouse squad Shanghai Greenland Shenhua last Friday at the Hongkou Stadium, as per Sofa Score.

The draw was the second consecutive unbeaten game for head coach Chang Woe-ryong's side after they defeated Yanbian, 2-1, in the previous round.

Prediction and Predicted Lineup

The predicted result is a close 2-1 decision for Chongqing Lifan.

Hebei China Fortune starting lineup (4-1-4-1 formation): Yang; Liao, Jin, Du, Ding; Luo; Kakuta, M'Bia, Li, Jiang; Aloisio

Chongqing Lifan starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Deng; Tan, Milovic, Liu, Xu; Ding, Jung; Fernandinho, Wang, Wu; Kardec

TagsChina Football, Chinese Super League, Chinese Super League 2016, Hebei China Fortune FC, Chongqing Lifan FC