What is the basis to believe that SLNA will win points against Ho Chi Minh City Club?

On the march to Ho Chi Minh City this time, the mentality of coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team is not in the best state. Tran Nguyen Manh and his teammates have just gone through a series of 4 goalless draws with Nam Dinh, Viettel, Hai Phong and Sanna Khanh Hoa. Witnessing the unconvincing performances of the home team players, Nghe An fans cannot help but feel disappointed.

The inability to defeat two teams in the relegation group, Nam Dinh and Sanna Khanh Hoa, is enough to clearly reflect the rather poor form of the Vinh home team. The main reason for this situation is the "lack of luck" of strikers on the attack line such as Ho Khac Ngoc, Olaha, Pham Xuan Manh... In football matches, without goals, the team can only gain at most 1 point.

Olaha's transformation in the early stages of the season contributed greatly to SLNA's victories. Photo courtesy of Xuan Thuy

On the other side of the front line, the home team Ho Chi Minh City Club is in quite good form this season. After 10 rounds of V.League 2019, coach Chung Hae-seong and his team are sitting comfortably at the top of the rankings with 23 points (7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss). The attack scored 15 goals (4th most), the defense only conceded 7 goals (2nd fewest). Obviously, at the present time, Ho Chi Minh City Club is rated higher than SLNA in terms of the ability to win.

That does not mean that SLNA's hope of winning points is too slim. Objectively, the chance of leaving Thong Nhat Stadium with at least 1 point is within the ability of coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team. Firstly, SLNA is the team with the best defense with only 5 times Tran Nguyen Manh and Tran Van Tien had to pick the ball out of the net. Since the beginning of V.League 2019 until now, the Nghe An team has had 8/10 clean sheets.

Second, the away team has an impressive record against the team from the city named after Uncle Ho. According to statistics, in a total of 7 meetings between the two teams on all fronts, since Ho Chi Minh City Club was promoted (in 2017), SLNA won 5 and drew 2. At Thong Nhat Stadium, the two teams met 3 times, with the Nghe team winning 2 and drawing 1. Based on the above statistics, it can be affirmed that SLNA is the "nemesis" of Ho Chi Minh City Club.

Ho Chi Minh City Club (red shirt) has not had any victory after 7 matches against SLNA in all competitions. Photo: Archive

In football, there are often factors that are difficult to explain, such as "nemesis". A typical example is the confrontation between the English team and the German team. No matter how good the team nicknamed "Three Lions" is, they often accept defeat when facing the "German Tank". Therefore, it is not without reason that people often mention the two words "nemesis" in the field of "football education". Coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his team can also rely on that, in the confrontation with the home team Thong Nhat Stadium on the afternoon of May 25.

In short, the referee has not blown the final whistle yet, the opportunity is divided equally between Ho Chi Minh City Club and SLNA. If Tran Nguyen Manh and his teammates defeat Coach Chung Hae-seong's team, it is also a very normal thing./.