Difficult to avoid surprises
Both Nam Dinh, The Cong Viettel and Hanoi will play tonight (May 18) in round 23 of V.League. The team from Thanh Nam will host Hoang Anh Gia Lai, The Cong Viettel will compete with Binh Dinh and Hanoi will meet Ho Chi Minh City.
All three of their opponents are unsafe, even at risk of relegation. With similar difficulties, the 3 leading teams in V.League will need to overcome challenges to win important points in the sprint stage.
But compared to Hanoi and The Cong Viettel, Nam Dinh will still top the group if they stumble against the team from the mountain town. The minimum gap of 5 points is enough to help coach Vu Hong Viet and his team have the right to decide for the championship.
What the two representatives of the Capital hope is that Nam Dinh will not win in 2-3 matches, plus they have to accumulate maximum points in the remaining rounds.
However, it is not easy for two terms to occur at the same time. Nam Dinh's opponents are all ranked lower on the rankings with weaker strength than them.
In addition, Hanoi and The Cong Viettel have to face each other in the second leg. Therefore, it is very difficult to compete for the championship with Nam Dinh at this time.
Feasible goals for Hanoi, The Cong Viettel
"Next season is our season," rookie Hendrio shared when debuting for Hanoi FC. This implies that the capital team accepts the prospect of not being able to compete for the throne with Nam Dinh.
On The Cong Viettel's side, the team's leadership assigned coach Popov the target of focusing on conquering the National Cup. They also understand that their chance to compete with the team from Thanh Nam is fragile.
If considering in the V.League alone, Hanoi and the Viet Viettel all want to try to end the season in the top 3. In addition to the face and belief from the fans, this position can also help the two teams have the opportunity to compete in the regional or continental tournament next season.
It is known that the National Cup and V.League champions will participate in the AFC Champions League 2 arena. Meanwhile, the two teams that won silver and bronze medals in the V.League will participate in the Southeast Asian Cup C1.
Of course, when participating in international tournaments, The Cong Viettel and Hanoi have the option to register unlimited foreign players (instead of 4 players according to the new season's standards), as long as the ceiling does not exceed 30 players. This makes it easy for the two teams to calculate and rotate personnel, especially in the difficult stages of the V.League.
The above story has been clearly demonstrated in Nam Dinh this year. The ownership of Romulo, Caio Cesar, Brenner, Mpande, Lucas Silva creates conditions for coach Vu Hong Viet to have many quality options for each match. That is also the reason why Nam Dinh is accelerating and leading the championship race up to now.
Hanoi and The Cong Viettel may have " given up" in the battle for the throne, but the "fat cake" from the privilege of clubs participating in international tournaments (top 3 V.League) is something that the two representatives of the capital cannot refuse.
