Round 6 V.League 2023/24: Winning opportunity for Song Lam Nghe An against Hoang Anh Gia Lai

After 5 warm-up matches at V.League 2023, SLNA lost 2 matches, drew 1 away match and 2 home matches this season, coach Phan Nhu Thuat and his team all "dropped" points against teams like Viettel or Quang Nam. However, in those 2 matches, the young SLNA players all played well and left regrets for the fans.

The unbeaten record, but also not winning at home, makes the young players of SLNA even more eager to welcome LPBank HAGL, who are facing many difficulties. Coach Kiatisuk's team has become the worst team at this time with 2 draws, 3 losses, and no wins like SLNA.

Both Song Lam Nghe An and Hoang Anh Gia Lai have had unstable defenses this season. The mountain town team is one of the teams with the worst defense in V.League this season with 10 goals conceded/5 matches, while Song Lam Nghe An has scored 11 goals/5 matches. On the contrary, Song Lam Nghe An's offense is rated higher with 7 goals, while the other team has only scored 4 goals.

Of the 7 goals scored by Song Lam Nghe An, 3 were scored by Michael Olaha. That was a hat-trick in the match against Quang Nam. On the other hand, Michael Olaha also contributed important assists for the Nghe team in recent times. The remaining goals of Song Lam Nghe An belonged to Manh Quynh, Van Bach, Xuan Tien.

Obviously, in order for the attack to play better in the upcoming period, one of the problems for the coaching staff of Song Lam Nghe An is how to use Raphael Success. The Nigerian player has not yet proven himself in the Song Lam Nghe An shirt as he has not scored any goals. Meanwhile, in the defense, Song Lam Nghe An is still playing with very young central defenders like Nguyen Hoang or Van Thanh.

There is a very remarkable statistic, in previous seasons from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, every time facing LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai, striker Michael Olaha has been in high form, scoring goals to bring victories to Song Lam Nghe An. That makes Song Lam Nghe An have a superior head-to-head record compared to the away team for 13 consecutive years.

Specifically, in 37 meetings, Song Lam Nghe An won 18 times, drew 9 times and lost 10 times. At Vinh Stadium, Song Lam Nghe An's record is even more advantageous when they won 15 matches, drew 4 matches and lost only 1 match. LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai's only win at Vinh Stadium against Song Lam Nghe An was in V.League 2010. Therefore, it can be said that LPBank HAGL is the favorite opponent of the Nghe team and Vinh Stadium is still a difficult curse for the away team.

Regarding the squad, Song Lam Nghe An continues to be without key players such as Trong Hoang, Dinh Xuan Tien, Ho Khac Luong, but Song Lam Nghe An's squad is still made up of young players with limited experience and competitive spirit. On the away team's side, LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai still has key players, but the fighting spirit and the players of Coach Kiatisuk are not high at this time.

With 3 points after 5 matches, Song Lam Nghe An is in dire need of a victory to revive their spirits. And if they win, the Nghe team will have 7 points, significantly improving their position on the rankings. The season is still very long and the matches against LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai, or Khanh Hoa at home in December are very important moments, deciding the achievements of Song Lam Nghe An after the first leg.

The match between Song Lam Nghe An and LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai in round 6 of V.League 2023/24 takes place at 5:00 p.m. on December 17 at Vinh Stadium.