- Team form: Jiangxi Lushan F.C. are on a two-game winning streak and have won their last two games.
- Away form: Henan FC have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six away games, averaging one goal per game on the road.
- Home form: Jiangxi Lushan F.C. have won three and lost three of their last six home games, averaging 1.00 goals per game and conceding just 0.67.
No value in Henan at short odds
Form and odds
Jiangxi Lushan F.C. have won five, drawn one and lost four of their last ten matches in all competitions and will arrive in Xinyu full of confidence having won their last two. Henan FC are the odds-on favorites for the win on Friday, but the odds on the visitors are too short to warrant any interest given the hosts' form and the upcoming matchup in this FA Cup 2026 clash.
Playing style
Songtao Yue's men have been defensively solid, pragmatic and have shown the ability to hurt teams on the counter attack with quick, direct play and a reliable set-piece threat. Henan will be the favourites to win, but Jiangxi Lushan could easily get something from this cup tie against a team that they will make it very difficult to break through.
- Jiangxi's style is quite simple – they set up a deep, narrow, defensive block, and try to limit the opposition's chances to get at them.
- They make it very tough for teams to break them down, and are much more comfortable in those transitions where their pace and energy can catch teams out.
Henan should dominate possession
Daniel Ramos' men do it the other way, as they will look to dictate the tempo in the middle of the field and use their possession to unlock the hosts' defensive lines. They will press to good effect when necessary and can hurt teams with their rotation in the offensive third.
Henan have won four, drawn two and lost four of their last ten in all competitions, so their form is solid but not exceptional ahead of this cup clash. They have posted impressive wins at Tianjin Jinmen Tigers (2-0) and Beijing Guoan FC (1-0) over the last few weeks, but their most recent outing ended in a home defeat to Zhejiang Professional FC.
Space and patience will be key
Jiangxi Lushan have won four of their last five matches, so it is clear to see why Yue's charges are in good form ahead of this clash. The most recent of those victories was a 7-0 demolition of Quanzhou Qinggong on the road, but they looked much more like their usual selves in the following round, beating Dalian K'un City 2-0 at home.
A home win wouldn't surprise us at all, but the way to go is to take the more generous odds for Jiangxi to keep things tight. Henan should see plenty of the ball, but they may well get frustrated at the lack of space in front of them as the game goes on. If the visitors play with patience, they will get chances to score, but this looks likely to be a defensive performance from Jiangxi Lushan, and we're backing them to keep it tight and nick a win.
Jiangxi Lushan to win, under 2.5 match goals and BTTS – No will be the main selection for this cup game, with a 1-0 score prediction added for smaller stakes.
