SLNA - S.Khanh Hoa: Guests refuse to leave empty-handed

The strong point of the away team is the defense, in which national goalkeeper Tuan Manh is playing brilliantly in both the V.League and the Mekong Cup that just took place recently. If only relying on long shots from Olaha and Khac Ngoc, the home team at Vinh Stadium will find it difficult to get 3 points against the away team with a rather tenacious defense.

Center back Chaher Zarour, 35 years old, had intended to retire at the end of V-League 2017 but was encouraged to play one more season and is still a simple player, playing extremely well in the air. This French defender is familiar with Olaha and Osmar and with his physical advantage, he will play higher than captain Van Vu in the blocking role.

Guest attack border

Among the full-backs, Tan Dien on the left wing is rated higher than Dinh Nhon on the right wing. When it is necessary to attack, Trong Binh, the experienced right-back, will enter the field. Manh Hung has been outplayed many times by this veteran.

S.Khanh Hoa has 3 players who can play as central midfielders: Tan Tai, Dinh Khuong and Hoai An. It seems that Tan Tai plays on the left and coordinates better with his brother Tan Dien, so he will be the first choice. Playing away from home, with a priority on defense, Hoai An will be the next choice. The pair of Khac Ngoc and Ngoc Toan will face Tan Tai and Hoai An in the midfield area, the key of the match lies here.

Expected lineup of S.Khanh Hoa. Photo: AT

FOX Sports Asia journalist Scott McIntyre described Duy Thanh, a player born in 1990 with a modest height of 1.67 m, with the beautiful phrase - "Arsenal-style playmaker".

Playing as an attacking midfielder right behind Youssouf Toure, this small midfielder can appear and disappear quickly and can pass the ball quite well with the outside of his left foot. The central defender pair Van Khanh and Ngoc Hai will have a difficult match because this opponent moves quite widely.

Of the two wingers, Quoc Chi has more experience than Ti Phong. With 7 goals last season, it shows how good the player who was called up to the national team is at choosing his position. People will witness an interesting confrontation between Xuan Manh and Quoc Chi, youth versus experience. On this wing, Dinh Hoang has returned, but perhaps coach Duc Thang will not dare to take risks in the first match.

However, it seems that Ti Phong will have an advantage when Manh Hung, the full-back, is recovering from an injury and Ngoc Duc has to "work hard" in Indonesia. When it is necessary to attack, Trong Binh and Ti Phong will take turns to destroy SLNA's left flank. Things will be more difficult when goalkeeper Nguyen Manh is still recovering from an injury, and the remaining faces have not yet created peace of mind for his teammates.

Home team attack to defend

It is likely that SLNA's coaching staff will introduce Van Duc and The Cuong in the match against S.Khanh Hoa. These two players can switch wings and coordinate with the foreign pair Olaha and Osmar.

In fact, the coordination ability of Van Duc, The Cuong with Olaha, Khac Ngoc is better than the fullbacks. So Van Duc tends to rush straight into the 16.5m area rather than playing on the sidelines or overlapping.

Coach Vo Dinh Tan did not hide his ambition for S.Khanh Hoa to score points at Vinh Stadium. Photo: Internet

Osmar is truly an unknown and a great hope for Vinh City audiences because of his reputation in the past. SLNA will certainly play a 4-4-2 formation, but as usual Olaha will play lower, taking on additional defensive duties.

So Osmar must do a good job of keeping the ball and waiting for his teammates to join the attack in order to have an overwhelming game. Playing at home, with a patchwork defense, SLNA is forced to attack and defend from a distance rather than focusing on the goal.

Khac Ngoc is certainly still SLNA's biggest hope. Having caught the eye of coach Park Hang Seo, if he plays well in this match, the path to the national team for this number 12 will be much shorter.

It is still unknown whether Sy Sam or Ngoc Toan will play with him, but the burden of the conductor role has been assigned to this player. There is nothing more joyful than when SLNA has the first 3 points and the names Ngoc Hai, Van Khanh, Van Duc and Khac Ngoc are called to the team.