V.League 2018: Who will be in 3rd place after round 20?

Until now, the match at Hang Day Stadium in which the Capital team won 4-3 against FLC Thanh Hoa is still considered by experts to be the most worth-watching match of V.League this season.

A match that left the mark of both coaches, the game on the field was tense and fierce in every pass, with many beautiful goals, bearing the mark of both individuals and tactics, and the coordination of the players of both teams.

Tense, fierce

For coach Chu Dinh Nghiem, the win or loss does not affect much the V.League championship this season which is already sealed for Hanoi FC. However, the players of the capital team need to restore their position after the 3-3 draw against the visiting team Nam Dinh in the last round.

FLC Thanh Hoa is the best opponent for them to do that, because in the end, in terms of V.League force this season, only Thanh players are "equally matched" in the confrontation with Thanh Luong and FLC Thanh Hoa players.

Huu Dung (FLC Thanh Hoa) will play with central midfielder Hoang Thinh, blocking Hanoi FC players from afar. Photo: GOAL

Both coaches let their key players rest to prepare for this most anticipated match. On Hanoi FC's side, Oseni sat out the previous match, while FLC Thanh Hoa's Trong Hoang and Dinh Dong were on the bench. The SLNA trio of Trong Hoang, Hoang Thinh, and Dinh Dong are still the key players in coach Duc Thang's hand to face the away team.

In the first leg, Trong Hoang and Hoang Thinh scored 2 out of 3 goals at Hang Day Stadium. More importantly, they increased their steel in confrontations with a team that played with a strong technical and cunning style.

Having played together for many years in the national team, Trong Hoang and Hoang Thinh are no strangers to the dribbling style of Van Quyet and Thanh Luong. With their abundant physical strength, the Nghe players are not afraid to clash with foreign players with muscular playing styles, Moses and Oseni Hoang Vu Samson. The Nghe players in the FLC Thanh Hoa jersey must fight to win 3 points, in order to not let the SLNA team surpass them and take the position they are holding.

Compared to the match at Hang Day Stadium, FLC Thanh Hoa has 2 important additions, foreign players Rimario (HAGL) and Huu Dung (XSKT.Can Tho). In which, Huu Dung is a player with a similar playing style to Hung Dung of the away team, full of passion but no less technical. Midfielder Vu Minh Tuan, after scoring a goal for FLC Thanh Hoa, was much more confident, able to cause trouble for the right wing of the away team.

FLC Thanh Hoa is taking on the responsibility of saving the V-League, not letting Van Quyet and the Hanoi FC players race to the finish line without a worthy opponent to stop them.

SLNA has 3 points?

More than anyone else, the home team SLNA players understand that HAGL is the easiest opponent among the 7 teams they will have to face in the final stage of the season. HAGL's 3-man defense often concedes goals, while conductor Xuan Truong is suffering from a minor injury.

Cong Phuong (HAGL) will have little chance of surpassing Ngoc Hai. Photo: Internet

This is an opponent whose defense is very vulnerable to Van Duc and Tuan Tai using their speed to penetrate the penalty area after the midfielders' passes. Meanwhile, Cong Phuong and Van Toan are opponents that Ngoc Hai and Khac Ngoc are very familiar with.

If they beat HAGL, the home team SLNA has every hope of rising to 3rd place in the rankings because FLC Thanh Hoa will find it difficult to get 3 points against the away team Hanoi. After this match, V-League 2018 will take a 2-month break for the U23 team to gather, so SLNA will have the opportunity to put all their efforts into playing against the team from the mountain town.

For SLNA, if they win, they will catch up with the record of 8 consecutive wins that Gach DTLA won 13 years ago. But most importantly, they need to win to thank the audience and find a profitable sponsorship contract when Bac A will end its 3rd sponsorship contract (within 9 years) at the end of the year.

Nothing could be better than SLNA winning 3rd place, at the end of this memorable season.