3 advantages of the home team Hang Day when hosting SLNA

Both Hanoi and SLNA do not have to compete in the National Cup qualifiers, but the Hang Day home team has a "warm-up" match at the AFC Cup 2019. After 2 matches in the group stage, Hanoi is ranked first with 4 points, they are in good shape for the match against SLNA on April 7.

Falling point and psychological momentum

Coach Chu Dinh Nghiem said he will keep Dinh Trong, Quang Hai, and Bui Tien Dung for the match against SLNA. Part of the players' physical strength has been worn out after qualifying for the 2020 AFC U23 Championship, and the other part is that the Hanoi coaching staff wants to reserve them for the match against SLNA, an opponent with many ties. Dinh Trong and Quang Hai will be important players for the defense and midfield of the Hang Day team.

Quang Hai was rested from the AFC Cup to face SLNA. Club photo

In fact, during the 2019 V.League break, SLNA only spent 5 days to relax and focus on the match at Hang Day Stadium. The team had 3 friendly matches with Ha Tinh Club and all achieved quite satisfactory results. But clearly, compared to Hanoi having 5-6 Hanoi players regularly playing in the U23 team in the 2020 AFC U23 Championship qualifiers, the advantage of maintaining form still leans towards the home team. For a long time, SLNA has been a team that has been slow to catch up after the V.League break. Last year, while having a streak of 8 consecutive wins, after the break for the national team, it was Hanoi who interrupted SLNA's winning streak.

Regarding the squad, apart from the return of goalkeeper Nguyen Manh, coach Duc Thang will most likely not have the trio Van Duc - Xuan Manh - Tuan Tai in the away match against Hanoi FC at Hang Day. On the home side, apart from Van Quyet who was sent off in the Viettel match and had to sit out, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem has a full squad.

It is worth mentioning that if Quang Hai's performance in the first 3 rounds was not high, then in the 3 qualifying matches of the 2020 AFC U23 Championship, the ball feeling of this number 19 has improved a lot. Meanwhile, having just recovered from injury, Dinh Trong has put on his shoes and has reached 80-90% of his original form. Quang Hai is also considered the best Vietnamese player in the 4-0 victory over U23 Thailand.

Obviously Quang Hai, Van Hau, Thai Quy, Thanh Chung, Dinh Trong and goalkeeper Tien Dung, the Hanoi players who started in the victory over U23 Thailand, are in high spirits after the historic victory at My Dinh Stadium. This is a great advantage for the home team at Hang Day Stadium when welcoming Khac Ngoc and the SLNA players.

Foreign advantage

Oseni is the nemesis of V.League teams. Club photo

Regarding foreign players, Hanoi has a clear advantage over the visiting team SLNA. Because they are competing in the AFC Cup, coach Chu Dinh Nghiem has the right to register 4 foreign players, so Hanoi has more "room" when it can choose 3 out of 4 names of defenders from Guam of American origin, Brandon McDonald, Omar, Oseni and Moses, and naturalized player Hoang Vu Samson, depending on the coach's tactical intentions. Except for defender McDonald, the remaining players of Hanoi can play both midfielder and striker positions, in fact, when on the field they constantly switch between each other, making it difficult for the opponent to keep up.

In terms of form, the home team's foreign players are also performing exceptionally well. After 3 rounds, foreign players Oseni, Hoang Vu Samson and Pape Omar have all scored 2 goals after 3 matches. Meanwhile, on SLNA's side, only Olaha has scored 2 goals, while striker Santos has yet to hit the target. Having been in the V.League for many years, Hoang Vu Samson, Omar, Oseni and Moses did not take much time to adapt.