According to the Oriental Sports Daily, Shenhua’s next friendly match is on September 6th, against Nantong Zhiyun, also from the Chinese Super League.
The report indicates that the reason for only four days between the two matches is largely due to Slutssky preparing for the dense schedule of the resuming Chinese Super League and the AFC Champions League Elite matches starting on September 13th.
The schedule shows that from September 13th to October 1st, Shenhua will play six matches in 18 days. Among these away games, there is not only a local derby against Shanghai Port in the FA Cup, but also two consecutive away matches in the league and the AFC Champions League Elite, traveling from Qingdao to Malaysia within four days.
Under such density and intensity, Slutstsky must get more players ready for the matches both physically and mentally, so the whole team can get through this “devilish schedule” starting from mid-September together.