Round 18 V.League, Nam Dinh – SLNA: Fire tests gold (17:00 today)

Trung Kien• DNUM_CIZAHZCABJ 07:52

(Baonghean.vn) - After a series of disappointing matches since the second leg of V.League 2019, Song Lam Nghe An will have a difficult away match against Nam Dinh. This is a match where both the defense and attack of the Nghe An team will be missing their best players.

V.League 2019 has only 9 matches left and this is the stage that largely determines the final rankings of the teams.

SLNA, a team capable of competing for medals, is hovering in the middle of the rankings with 5th place (23 points). It is worth mentioning that this position is only 1 win more than the 11th place team and only 2 points behind the 4th place team.

Therefore, if they receive another defeat, the Nghe An team will continue to fall freely into the bottom half of the rankings. But if they win 1 match, SLNA still has a full chance of returning to the Top 4. Similarly, Nam Dinh, coach Nguyen Van Dung's team, has 22 points, only 1 point behind SLNA and is in dire need of a win to break away.

Since the 3-0 victory over HAGL at Vinh Stadium, SLNA has had a series of 5 matches with only draws and losses in all competitions. SLNA's defense, which was considered the best in the first leg, is no longer a solid support. In the last 3 matches, goalkeeper Nguyen Manh had to pick the ball out of the net 7 times.

SLNA is without central defender Damir Memovic for the first time in V.League 2019. Photo: Trung Kien

Nam Dinh, a team that was always considered to be at risk of relegation, has a new look in the V.League this season. The Thanh Nam team has just had 2 wins at home, 1 draw and 1 loss away.

Besides, Nam Dinh also proved to be very dangerous when playing at home, teams like Saigon, Binh Duong, Hanoi, Da Nang, Viettel and Thanh Hoa were "defeated" at "Thien Truong Fire Pot". Therefore, this will be a very difficult challenge for SLNA in the context of not yet solving the "problem" on the attack line.

On the other hand, in this match, SLNA will be missing two foreign players, Damir Memovic and Michael Olaha, who have played every minute since the beginning of the season. If Memovic is the rock in front of Nguyen Manh's goal with his high ball clearances and accurate judgments, Olaha is an aggressive player, shouldering great responsibility in both attacking and defensive plans. In return, SLNA will welcome the return of defender Tran Dinh Hoang and Pham Xuan Manh can be pushed up to play as an attacking midfielder.

On Nam Dinh side, Thanh Nam team also does not have the service of central defender Lam Anh Quang. However, it is clear that the home team is the team with the advantage. In the history of confrontation, the two teams met a total of 15 times, SLNA won 7, drew 4 and lost 4. At Thien Truong stadium, SLNA had 2 wins, drew 2 and lost 3.

Foreign players Joel Vinicius and Tuan Tai will be the two most anticipated players on SLNA's attack line in the match at Thien Truong Stadium this afternoon. Photo: Trung Kien

The upcoming match at Thien Truong Stadium reminds people of the competition between the two leading forces when the National Championship was first professionalized nearly 20 years ago. Nam Dinh was relegated and then promoted again, while the Nghe An army has not had to leave the highest playing field for the past 33 years. In the context of having to win an away match to regain the trust of the fans, SLNA will certainly have a life-and-death match with their opponent.

Statistics on the scoring times of Nam Dinh and SLNA show that the home team is proving to be more dangerous in attack. Of the total 21 goals scored by the strikers, 5 came at the end of the first half (minutes 30-45) and 7 goals at the end of the match (75-90). SLNA is the team with the worst start in V.League when they have not scored any goals in the first 15 minutes of the match.

It is in difficult times like these that SLNA fans want to see the bravery and unyielding spirit of the Nghe An team. Besides, this is a challenge but also an opportunity for coach Nguyen Duc Thang and his colleagues to demonstrate their ability and leadership skills.

The match between Nam Dinh and Song Lam Nghe An will take place at 5:00 p.m. on July 28 at Thien Truong Stadium.

EXPECTED LINEUP

Nam Dinh:TM Xuan Viet, Van Phu, Quoc Huong, Van Truong, Ha Long, Manh Cuong, E. Agbaji, Manh Hung, Xuan Quyet, Diogo Pereira, Gustavo.

SLNA:TM Nguyen Manh, Dinh Hoang, The Nhat, Van Khanh, Dinh Dong, Xuan Thang, Van Binh, Khac Ngoc, Xuan Manh, Tuan Tai, Joel Vinicius.

PREDICTION: 2-3