Qingdao Hainiu will face the most difficult moment.

Reporter Chen Yong reports Due to the influence of Typhoon "Bavi," the away match of Qingdao Hainiu against Zhejiang Club Greentown was rescheduled from July 11 to July 14. Although only postponed by three days, Qingdao Hainiu's schedule has become severe: after the away match against Zhejiang Club Greentown on July 14, Qingdao Hainiu will play away against Henan Club Caitaofang on July 17, followed by the away FA Cup match against Shanghai Shenhua on the 21st, and the 20th round league match at home against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers on the 25th.

The away matches against Zhejiang Club and Henan Club are the most difficult, as the interval between them is extremely short. More importantly, the current weather conditions are also very unfavorable. Take the example of the match between Shandong Taishan and Yunnan Yukun on July 11, where the sweat of the players from both sides streamed down their faces like rain. With only two days of rest, the same lineup simply cannot cope. Qingdao Hainiu can only sustain themselves through extensive rotation.

Normally, it would be more reasonable to postpone the match against Henan Club by one day, but in reality, it is very difficult: unless the match cannot be played, the impact of rescheduling is not small. Moreover, Henan Club is not without relegation risk; their points are only one point higher than Qingdao Hainiu. If they can win this match while resting and waiting for the opponent, the situation would be very optimistic. Additionally, Henan Club's FA Cup match is also on July 21. As the runner-up of last year's FA Cup, Henan Club may not give up on the FA Cup.

For Qingdao Hainiu, rotation has become a must. For example, in the last round of the Chinese Super League, Liu Guobao started the match. Other players available for rotation include Yang Cong, Liu Xinyu, Yan Zhuobin, and Wei Zixian. Yang Cong came off the bench in the last round and scored a crucial equalizer.

However, overall, Qingdao Hainiu does not have many players to rotate. So far this season, a total of 17 players have played in 8 or more league matches for Qingdao Hainiu: Ye Boya, Strandberg, Song Wenjie, Ezhuma, Jin Yonghao, Lin Chuangyi, Mesaoudi, Luo Senwen, Yan Zhuobin, Song Long, Li Suda, Angelkovic, Jin Yangyang, Liu Junshuai, Wei Zixian, Li Hailong, and goalkeeper Mou Pengfei. Among these 17, rotation in the defensive line is relatively easy, for example, the full-backs/wing-backs are a mix of veterans and youngsters, and the center-backs also have rotation options. However, the midfield and forward line are more difficult. Mesaoudi is out for the season, Strandberg is also injured, and Ye Boya is suspended for the next three rounds of the Chinese Super League.

Ye Boya is suspended for five matches. He will not only miss the matches against Zhejiang Club and Henan Club, but most importantly, he will also miss the 20th round home match against Tianjin Jinmen Tigers. This is a "six-point battle" for relegation. The absence of the top scorer puts Qingdao Hainiu in a double dilemma of both schedule and squad.

For Qingdao Hainiu, the variable is whether the new foreign player can bring more help to the team. Currently, Qingdao Hainiu has secured the services of former Serbian international Tufegdzic. He is an attacking midfielder who can also play as a forward, and can well replace Mesaoudi's position.

Previous reports indicated that Tufegdzic was expected to make it for Qingdao Hainiu's away match against Henan Club. Now, with the postponement of Qingdao Hainiu's away match against Zhejiang Club, he might also be able to make it for that match. Tufegdzic arrived in Shanghai on July 12, and will go directly to Hangzhou on the 13th to join the team. Whether he can play depends on his physical condition. By the time of the match between Qingdao Hainiu and Tianjin Jinmen Tigers on the 25th, Tufegdzic should be able to recover to a relatively good state.

What Qingdao Hainiu can also look forward to is the return of Strandberg. He suffered a muscle strain early in the 13th round of the Chinese Super League on May 20, and resumed training in mid-June. Now a month has passed. If he can return, it will also alleviate Qingdao Hainiu's predicament to the greatest extent.

For Qingdao Hainiu, there is actually no need to lose confidence. In their last two matches, they defeated Yunnan Yukun at home and fought hard to a draw with Chengdu Rongcheng while only having two foreign players on the field. These two matches have undoubtedly given Qingdao Hainiu enough confidence and morale.