There are 3 championship candidates left
The 2-2 draw against Binh Dinh at Quy Nhon Stadium caused The Cong Viettel to eliminate themselves from the 2024-2025 V.League championship race. A day before, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, with a 0-1 defeat when meeting Song Lam Nghe An, also had no chance to compete for the throne. Currently, there are only 3 teams capable of competing for the championship in the final stage: Nam Dinh (48 points), Hanoi (43 points) and Hanoi Police (33 points).
As for Hanoi Police, this team has played 2 matches less than Nam Dinh. If Quang Hai and his teammates win all 5 remaining matches, they will reach a total of 48 points. In case Nam Dinh loses all 3 final rounds, plus Hanoi does not reach 48 points, Hanoi Police will balance the score with the representative of Nam Thanh. In addition, due to the better direct confrontation record with Nam Dinh (1 win, 1 draw), coach Mano Polking's team will win the spectacular V.League.
That scenario for Hanoi Police is very beautiful. However, in reality, as long as Nam Dinh has 1 more point in the remaining 3 matches, the opportunity for the police team to turn the tables will not happen.
At this time, the championship race is just a "song" race between Nam Dinh and Hanoi. Accordingly, coach Vu Hong Viet and his team are 5 points ahead of the capital representative, and also outstanding in direct confrontation (Winning first and second leg). This means that Nam Dinh only needs 4 more points to secure the V.League championship, despite Hanoi's absolute victory in the remaining 3 matches. At that time, both sides will have the same 52 points but Nam Dinh will be above thanks to the head-to-head index.
It is difficult to predict the relegation race
If the V.League championship race has narrowed down candidates, the relegation battle will be open, with 7 clubs in the bottom half of the rankings still at risk of being relegated, including direct relegation and the play-off round with a ticket draw.
Of these, Hoang Anh Gia Lai has the more self -determination. The mountain town team is 7 points more than the bottom team. According to the schedule, they will meet Da Nang (at the end of the table), the Lam Nghe An river (ranked 11th) and Quang Nam (ranked 12th). Just drew Da Nang in the next match, Hoang Anh Gia Lai certainly avoids the direct relegation. However, in order to attend the V.League next season, they need to wait for parallel results and decide their fate in the penultimate.
The same story for Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong. Although they are creating a good score gap (from 5-6 points) compared to the bottom team, they still need victories to gradually rise up, at least not having to play the play-off match to avoid tickets.
The increase in pressure with the last 4 teams is the Lam Nghe An, Quang Nam, Binh Dinh and Da Nang rivers. No team has dared to believe that they will not be bogged down when the tournament closed. The most advantage of the final schedule is Binh Dinh, when meeting two teams, there is no motivation in V.League, Thanh Hoa and Hanoi Police (round 23 and 24). By the 25 and 26 rounds, they met Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. At that time, both opponents probably knew their ability to win the championship and relegation so Binh Dinh could be "easier to breathe".
Quang Nam also had a quite ideal match schedule. In addition to the match against Nam Dinh in the second leg, the Quang team will face Hong Linh Ha Tinh - who were out of motivation and Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the final round. The chance for Phan Thanh Hau and his teammates to win 6 points in the last 3 matches is also completely possible.
All difficulties are concentrated on Song Lam Nghe An and Da Nang. Despite winning the last 23 rounds, these two clubs still face many challenges in the last 3 matches. More notably, Da Nang will also face Song Lam Nghe An directly in the penultimate match, which could be the "reverse final" that will decide the relegation ticket.
The closer it got to the end, the better the V.League got. The unpredictability in the championship and relegation races is only resolved through each round.
