There are just six rounds of fixtures remaining in the 2016 Chinese Super League, as a season which has drawn unprecedented attention soon draws to a close.
Yet, in spite of the enormous sums of money which have changed hands over the past 12 months, the league table has a familiar look to it with Guangzhou Evergrande currently on course to seal a sixth consecutive triumph. But what remains to be resolved as the campaign concludes?
1. Can anybody stop Guangzhou Evergrande?
Just when they appeared to be sailing to a sixth straight title, a run of just one point from three games saw Luiz Felipe Scolari's side's lead in the table cut to just six points.
A handsome 3-0 win over Hebei China Fortune this past weekend put them back on track, but it was a result emphatically matched by closest competitors Jiangsu Sainty who put six past struggling Shijiazhuang.
Gaining six points in six games on a side who rarely slip up in domestic action is a tough challenge, but Choi Yong-Soo's arrival has seen a real upturn in Jiangsu's results and confidence. Evergrande's imposing remaining fixture list, though, offers reason for encouragement.
A Wednesday night clash between the pair on Oct. 26 could prove decisive, but any slip-up from Jiangsu in the four games prior to that meeting would likely mean the title race is done and dusted by the time the two meet.
2. Who will claim the final AFC Champions League places?
While Evergrande are odds-on favourites to win the title, the four teams who will represent China in next season's AFC Champions League (ACL) are harder to predict.
Evergrande and Jiangsu will almost certainly now qualify by virtue of league position, while Gregorio Manzano's Shanghai Shenhua have picked up 13 of 15 possible points which has seen them steal into the third automatic spot for the time being.
However, their lead over city neighbours SIPG is just two points and with Sven-Goran Eriksson's men now relieved of their ACL commitments, it is a race to the finish which threatens to further stoke tensions in an already hostile rivalry. Manuel Pellegrini's Hebei side, six points off third, now likely need cup results to go their way.
Should Shenhua, Jiangsu or Evergrande, all semifinalists, win the CFA Cup then a fourth qualification spot into next year's competition would open up based upon league placing.
Guangzhou R&F, though, are the potential spoilsports who would claim automatic qualification for themselves were they to go all the way in cup action. Given their fine recent form, it is far from out of the question.
3. Can Changchun Yatai pull off the great escape?
With a six-point gap having opened up between Changchun, Shijiazhuang and safety, it is tempting to say that the relegation battle already appears sewn up.
However, with the former possessing a game in hand on their rivals and a relatively friendly fixture list to come, it is a race which is still far from over. The team they are both chasing, Hangzhou, meanwhile must face five of the league's top six sides in their final six games.
Changchun have for long periods of the season appeared dead and buried, but seven points out of 12 possible have given the North-Eastern side a lifeline.
They will require Bolivian striker Marcelo Moreno (10 goals) to keep scoring and to pick up three points in the upcoming six-pointer with Shijiazhuang (Sept. 25). Achieve that and they might yet provide a shock.
4. Where are the Chinese goal scorers going to come from?
Once again in 2016, the top-scorer charts do not make pretty reading from a Chinese perspective.
Since 2012, when there was no Chinese player in double figures over the course of the 30-game season, things have improved with two or three local players each year reaching that milestone.
Shanghai SIPG midfielder Wu Lei (13 goals) aside, no other player has reached that figure yet this campaign and only one other player has managed more than six goals so far. It is a major concern for a country hoping to see improved national team results.
Chinese players are forced to accept that central striking berths will generally be handed to foreign stars, but those in power will hope to see a late season run of goals for locals.
5. Will Luiz Felipe Scolari and Sven-Goran Eriksson save their jobs?
With Marcello Lippi reported to be heading back to Guangzhou Evergrande, it may already be too late for Big Phil. A league victory is likely forthcoming, but it seems that the Brazilian will pay for his side's early ACL exit back in May.
Scolari won that crown last year and is favourite to win back-to-back league titles, but his side have not been the dominant force they were under the Italian. Barring a miracle, he will be out of a job soon.
Eriksson's situation, meanwhile, is a little different. While SIPG's league form has been disappointing, with last season's runners-up currently lying fourth, the side advanced to the last eight in the ACL in their first foray into the competition.
That in itself should normally have been enough to keep the Swede in a job, but the manner of their exit -- losing 5-0 to Jeonbuk Motors this week -- has added enormous pressure. The real possibility that the club fail to qualify for next year's tournament, despite enormous expenditure on Hulk, Elkeson, Asamoah Gyan and Dario Conca in particular may be the breaking point.
A strong run-in to recover third place could well save Eriksson, but anything less will almost certainly see the club look elsewhere as they seek to establish themselves as genuine contenders for honours on all fronts.
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