North Central Derby: Both home and away teams receive gifts?

Plenty of troops, but no general.

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

The Thanh Hoa team will continue to be without coach Petrovic as the Serbian coach is currently on sick leave. Leading Dong A Thanh Hoa is assistant coach Svetislav Tanasijevic, who has just suffered two consecutive defeats, causing the team to drop to the bottom half of the league table.

In the match against Song Lam Nghe An, hosts Dong A Thanh Hoa had the crucial return of center-back Gustavo Santos. The Brazilian player, along with Minh Tung, provided excellent defensive protection in front of goal in the 4-2-3-1 formation. His suspension had somewhat affected Thanh Hoa's defense in their 1-3 defeat against Viettel in the previous round.

The home team's hope lies in new signing Gustavo Costa Balotelli. In the last two matches, the Brazilian striker has scored and demonstrated his footballing intelligence, individual technique, speed, and attacking prowess. His goal against Viettel in the previous round confirmed this; if Song Lam Nghe An's all-Vietnamese defense is out of position, they will pay the price.

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

The home team's wingers, Van Thang and Quoc Phuong, will face Sy Hoang and Dinh Hoang of the visiting team. Thanh Hoa's wingers are keen to penetrate the opponent's 16.5m box and unleash powerful long-range shots. Free kicks are also a strong point for Le Quoc Phuong, a player with a rather unusual left foot.

With Dam Tien Dung supporting the left wing, Gustavo and Quoc Phuong received more of the ball. Certainly, center-back Ba Sang must overcome his lack of speed when facing the home team's fast-moving players. Coach Huy Hoang will have to carefully consider his approach when implementing the offside trap at Thanh Hoa Stadium.

The customer pays for the effort and compensates for the loss.

This is a match where the away team will use all three foreign players in attack. The striker pair of Olaha and Oseni will have to combine with newcomer Mario to improve their goal-scoring. Three goals and one assist are still too few for Oseni's contribution to the Nghe An team. Foreign player Olaha is still mentioned more for his role in disrupting the opponent's play and fatigue rather than fulfilling the role of a center forward; his record of two goals and two assists is even lower than that of 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 as the furthest forward in Song Lam Nghe An's attack, this striker is quite slow in his movements and lacks the powerful shots he had when playing for Hanoi FC. Having gone 6 matches without scoring, if the Nigerian striker doesn't improve his form, his chances of starting will dwindle.

Midfielders Mario and Xuan Manh will have the opportunity to face Ze Pauli and Ngoc Tan in the midfield area. These are the most consistent players of both teams and are trusted by their teammates. Midfielder Xuan Manh is increasingly convincing in his new role, demonstrating stamina, strength, and game-reading ability. Not only in defense but also in attack, especially from set pieces, this midfielder has scored very valuable goals for Song Lam Nghe An.

Given that they are no strangers to each other, this is unlikely to be a high-scoring match, especially since the home team has just lost two consecutive games, and the visiting team, Song Lam Nghe An, has also gone two games without a win. It is very possible that this will be a match where both Thanh Hoa and Nghe An teams end up with points after 90 minutes of play.