Shanghai Harbor having no warm-up matches during the break has sparked many off-field discussions—will this affect their championship hopes? Let me talk about this matter carefully with everyone.

Status quorum uncertain under absence of combat drills After the start of the league's hiatus period, most clubs arrarge friendly matches to maintain competitive rhythm. But Shanghai Harbor, sitting quietly in the training base throughout these 21 days, neither went out to challenge nor invited others to test. The players haven't experienced the tension of fighting with genuine opponents for nearly a month, which truly让人心里打鼓 (makes people have misgiving). Their last genuine match停留在 (retained until) the东亚 Cup group stage in early July, where those scattered substitute appearances now seem particularly distant. When stepping onto Changchun Yatai's home ground on July十八号 (eighteenth), whether the players' legs feel rusty will成为 (become) the first puzzle to emerge.

In fact, Harbor's past post-break performances have always been questionable. Last year around这个时候 (about this time), after the two-week national team training window关闭 (closed), they lost 0-1 to Chengdu Rongcheng at home, and had连续四轮 (four consecutive rounds) without a win. Head coach Lecco explained that it was due to players' tiredness for a while, but this time连起码的 match rust removal (even the at least match rust removal) hasn't been done, and the risk of recurrence of old problems cannot be ruled排除 (excluded).

Insufficient depth augmentation fails to bring sufficient intensity In the summer transfer market this year, Harbor still continued their low-key style. The much-talked-about Meruelo joined with zero transfer fee yes, but this Spanish midfield was a substitute even in西乙卡迪斯 (Cádiz of La Liga 2), and his last Liga victory traced back to April last year. The Hong Kong player Alex Zou who followed him was even more边缘角色 (marginalized role), having only started once in all World Preliminary matches this year for Hong Kong team, with个人数据 (individual statistics) totally blank.

Compare to Beijing Guoan signing Ghana international Djiku for 2 million Euros, and Shanghai Shenhua poaching striker Evrard from Wuhan Three Towns—Can these two so-so signings really fill the structural holes in Harbor's foreign aid? The club leaders也许心里有数 (maybe have a clue), but fans looking forward to黑马 showing (dark horse showing) can only wait and see, right？

Structural imbalance of foreign aid remains unresolved yet The problem of Harbor's foreign aid lineup has been exposed at the beginning of the season. Gustavo, who was high-priced introduced in winter, has been sidelined due to tactical system incompatibility and injuries, and hasn't appeared in the league squad listed for nearly ten rounds. Now the club keeps silent about his disposal plan一起看球吧， with parties saying that he might be the sixth foreign aid for AFC Champions League， but the current contract还有半年到期 (still half a year to expire)， releasing him would definitely lose on capital， which is a real dilemma哟 (Yo).

Meruelo wants to take the position no easy (takeing the position is note easy). The new aid's last regular match停留在六月一号 (stayed on June first). Though having private training during unemployment period，professional competition intensity and team tactical running-in (tactical matching) can by no means be comparable！ When facing Changchun's dense defense看球直播， whether he can link up with Wu Lei seamlessly like in the Espanyol era—that probably需要打个问好 (needs a question mark).

Post-interruption fixture hard to be an easy ride The league restart match against Changchun Yatai looks拿分轻松 (easy to get points) on paper， but look back at historical records你就知道 (you will know). Yatai who is currently at the bottom is not a soft persimmon indeed！ Just在间歇期前 (before the break period)， they unexpectedly drew 2-2 with championship rival Guoan at home， demonstrating其主场韧性 (its home resilience). Harbor had trouble here many times previously—not to mention the 1-1 draw last season， they even lost 0-2 in 2022 when they were competing for championship.

What's more troublesome is the weather factor. Changchun in mid-July has average temperature around 30℃正午时分 (at noon)， and the match kicks off at three o'clock in the afternoon！ Players who have been cozy in Shanghai's training base for a long time may not adapt to the wet heat—this invisible opponent might become Harbor's biggest variable on the day.

Former champion team lacking momentum performance As the double crown winner of last season， Harbor's attitude in new campaign真是让人摸不着头脑 (really makes people confused). Less than two months since winning FA Cup， they lost 0-1 to Zhejiang team in Super Cup final； During league first half赛程进行时 (when schedule progression)， they often experienced 闷平 (dull draw) and late conceded goals， falling behind leader Beijing Guoan by 8 points so far。 Such state makes fans不禁 start to怀念 (can't help but start to miss) 2018 season when they led the table all the way—how could back then那般如狼似虎 (so tiger-wolf-like) fighting spirit disappear without trace?

Public information shows that Harbor's training intensity during the break hasn't decreased， but without real matches for validation， these data are like无的放矢 (shooting without target). Some enthusiastic fans went to the base outskirts to observe through security fence， saying that players seemed relaxed after training， some even played games on their phones beside the field—Is it calm or slack？ This is really hard to distinguish清楚 (distinguish clearly)！

Championship competition showing multi-dimensional hardship situation Everyone in football circle knows that title race in中超联赛后半程 (this season's Chinese Super League second half) will only get more cruelty！ The current top four teams are all having ups and downs circumstance： Guoan's new aid needs time fusion； Shenhua has to tackle AFC Champions League-distracted players' physical fitness； Rongcheng's away game road remains tough. In theory the points deficit is still obtainable for Harbor， but looking at their current recruitment speed and state adjustment ability—Can they seize such narrow gold opportunity window before the league once again pauses for Asian Games?

What's more，their own lineup has wounded soldiers appearing接连的 (one after another). Midfielder key player Cai Huikang is still recovering from old knee injury； center-back Wang Shenchao also missed part of training sessions due to minor muscle strain. These hidden risks like定时炸弹 (time bombs) could detonate game process中的 (in the process of the game) fragile balance足球直播， especially in vital battle with few friendly match run-in.

Having said这么一长串 (such a long parade)， you must have your own observations on Harbor's current situation. So here comes我想问大家 (what I want to ask everyone)： In face of the upcoming league restart showdown versus Changchun Yatai—Do you think Shanghai Harbor without practical game磨刀 (sharpening the sword via practical match experience) can smoothly win this crucial away game? Welcome to leave comments with your analysis and opinions（分析和看法）！ Remember to give more interaction support if you feel this sharing is somewhat 言之有物哦 (has genuine content)!