Well, dear companions, we've got ourselves a real humdinger here today with the Shanghai Port gearing up to take on the Yunnan Yukun. Let's dive straight into the shallow end of the pool, shall we?
In the goalkeeping department, Shanghai Port pencil in Junling Yan, who's done well to hold down a 6.38 rating with 9 saves to his name. On the other side, Yunnan Yukun split time between Jianxian Yu with a 7.90 rating and Zhen Ma fairly impressive with a 7.34 rating. The position seems to be a rotating cast in Yukun's camp, switching between quality and quantity of saves.
Shanghai's notable players are quite a bunch, with Mateus Vital being the pick of the litter with a 7.62 rating, no goals but showcases 88.9% of his passes landing in the good hands. Leonardo is the team's trigger man, with 2 goals under his belt and an accurate pass percentage of 68.2%.
Wang-Kit Tsui is the shining star for Yunnan as he brags about his 7.46 rating, 2 goals, and a pass accuracy that can't match Vital's but still impressive around 72.8%. Alexandru Ioniță also stands out with a 7.22 rating and a goal to his name, although the 70.7% pass accuracy seems like it could use a little more precision.
Quick glance at the regular season records shows Shanghai Port holding an impressive 4-2-1 record, compared to Yunnan's frankly mediocre 2-3-3. Recent performance is also indicative, with the Ports showing a mixed bag of fortune, while Yukun's recent outings would make a very bland romantic comedy with a lot of ties and heartbreaks.
Brains will say Shanghai Port, guts might scream Yunnan Yukun, but I trust the numbers and the numbers whisper back, "Benny, you've got to trust Shanghai Port on this one."
Albert’s Prediction: Shanghai Port by 1