Yuelong Zhou vs Sijun Yuan Prediction: Zhou will win as the better player

Yuelong Zhou and Sijun Yuan will meet in round 1/32 in the Scottish Open. Heading into this game, the two players suffered a defeat. How will they react in this one?

Yuelong Zhou's last tournament was in the Snooker Shoot-Out, and he lost to Florian Nussle. However, opening the game, Yuelong Zhou defeated Andrew Pagett and Louis Heathcote, ending 57-49 and 115-0. In the meantime, Yuelong Zhou has had inconsistent performances in recent games, losing more games than he has won Yuelong Zhou lost to Graham Dott, Shaun Murphy, Michael Holt, Jamie Jones, and Matthew Selt in that run. 

Sijun Yuan has struggled in recent games, and the Chinese player will hope to step up his game. In his last two tournaments, Sijun Yuan failed to secure a single win, losing to Matthew Stevens in the Snooker Shoot-Out and Sanderson Lam in the UK Championship Qualification. However, in the International Championship, Sijun Yuan defeated Michael Holt in round 1/32 but then lost to Jiang Jun, ending 4-6, and 6-4, respectively. Heading into this game, Sijun Yuan has had two wins in his last seven matches, which is a poor performance. 

Yuelong Zhou is the man for the job, but this might be a close game. While Sijun Yuan came into this game with a run of poor performances, Yuelong Zhou has not been dominant lately, and Sijun Yuan also won the first meeting between these sides. This should be close, but I do not see Yuelong Zhou losing here, while Sijun Yuan could make this one close.