North Central Derby, both guests and hosts get gifts?

Full troops, absent general

Thanh Hoa football team will continue to be without the services of coach Petrovic. Photo: THF

The Thanh team will continue to be without coach Petrovic as the Serbian is on medical leave. Dong A Thanh Hoa is led by assistant Svetislav Tanasijevic, who has just lost two consecutive matches, causing the team to fall to the bottom half of the rankings.

In the match welcoming Song Lam Nghe An, the home team Dong A Thanh Hoa had a very important return of central defender Gustavo Santos. This Brazilian player and Minh Tung defended very well in front of the goal in the 4-2-3-1 tactical formation. His suspension somewhat affected the Thanh team's defense in the 1-3 loss to Viettel in the previous round.

The hope of the home team is the new player Gustavo Costa Balotelli. In the last 2 matches, this Brazilian striker has scored goals and demonstrated his football thinking, personal technique, speed, and dominance. His goal against Viettel in the previous round confirmed that, if the defense of all domestic players of Song Lam Nghe An is in the wrong position, it will cost them.

Dinh Hoang's right wing is the main attack direction of Dong A Thanh Hoa. Photo: VPF

The home team's Van Thang and Quoc Phuong will face off against the away team's Sy Hoang and Dinh Hoang. Thanh Hoa's wingers are willing to penetrate the opponent's 16.5m space and shoot powerfully from afar. Free kicks are also the strong point of Le Quoc Phuong, a player with a rather unusual left foot.

On the left wing, with the support of Dam Tien Dung, Gustavo and Quoc Phuong received the ball more. Certainly, center back Ba Sang had to overcome his weakness in speed when facing the fast-moving players of the home team. Coach Huy Hoang had to consider carefully when applying the offside trap when coming to Thanh Hoa stadium.

The guest takes the credit and compensates the guest.

This is a match where the away team will use all 3 foreign players for the attack. The striker pair Olaha and Oseni will have to combine with rookie Mario to improve their scoring. 3 goals and 1 assist are still too few that Oseni contributes to the Nghe An team. Foreign player Olaha is still mentioned more in the role of destroying the opponent's strength and playing style than playing the role of a center forward, with a record of 2 goals and 2 assists, losing to defender Ho Tuan Tai of Binh Dinh.

Olaha, Oseni needs to play closer to the opponent's goal. Immediately after receiving the ball, Oseni needs to make more decisive decisions. Playing highest in the attack of Song Lam Nghe An, this striker is quite slow, not having strong shots like when he played for Hanoi FC. Having not scored in 6 matches, if the Nigerian striker does not improve his performance, his chances of playing in the starting lineup will gradually decrease.

Midfielders Mario and Xuan Manh will have the opportunity to face Ze Pauli and Ngoc Tan in the midfield. These are the most stable players of the two teams and are trusted by their teammates. Midfielder Xuan Manh is increasingly playing convincingly in his new role in terms of durability, strength and game reading. Not only in defense but also in attacks, especially set pieces, this midfielder has scored valuable goals for Song Lam Nghe An.

Since they are not strangers to each other, this is a match that is unlikely to have many goals, especially when the home team has just lost 2 consecutive matches, while the away team Song Lam Nghe An has also not won 2 matches. It is very likely that this will be a match where both Thanh-Nghe teams will have points after 90 minutes of play.