The No. 1 playground of Vietnamese football will return on August 15 with an exciting match between Hanoi Police and The Cong Viettel, taking place at 7:15 p.m. Both teams are strong candidates for the championship this season.
Hanoi Police have had a great preparation for the new season, when they defeated Nam Dinh 3-2 to win the National Super Cup. Coach Polking's team has stability in playing style, possessing many individuals with the ability to handle independently and make many breakthroughs.
Meanwhile, The Cong Viettel has brought in 9 new players and set a goal of winning the championship this season. To realize that, the results of the matches against direct opponents like Hanoi Police will be important.
Last season, the two teams met in 3 matches. In the V.League, The Cong Viettel beat Hanoi Police 2-1 at home but lost 1-2 away. In the National Cup semi-finals, Hanoi Police beat their opponents 3-1, creating the premise for them to then win the championship.
defending champion Nam Dinh will start the title defense campaign by meeting Hai Phong at home. Last season, coach Vu Hong Viet's team defeated the Hai Phong team twice in the V.League, so they are confident that they will win all 3 points in the opening match of the new season, taking place at 6:00 p.m. on August 16.
Also on August 16, the Ho Chi Minh City Police team will meet Hanoi FC at home. This match marks the return of the name Ho Chi Minh City Police - a symbol of the success of Ho Chi Minh City football at one time. Under the leadership of coach Le Huynh Duc, the Thong Nhat Stadium team promises to cause many difficulties for Van Quyet and his teammates.
On August 17, V.League will have 4 matches. At home, Hoang Anh Gia Lai welcomed Becamex HCMC. This is a fairly balanced match between two teams with quite a strong force in the V.League. Last season, Hoang Anh Gia Lai won Becamex HCMC 4-0 at Pleiku Stadium, but before that, they lost 1-4 to their opponents at Go Dau Stadium.
Ninh Binh rookie will play away at Hong Linh Ha Tinh. Although they have just started to get wet and have a good chance to join the V.League, Ninh Binh is highly appreciated, after recruiting a series of stars in the past two years such as Dang Van Lam, Hoang Duc, Duc Chien, Chau Ngoc Quang, Dung Quang Nho... along with a series of other foreign players.
Da Nang, who have stayed in the league thanks to a win in the play-off, will have a tough match on Thanh Hoa's field. With highly rated new players, home advantage and a squad of domestic players with quite even quality, Thanh Hoa has many opportunities to win the opening match.
The remaining match of round 1 will take place between PVF - CAND and Song Lam Nghe An. These are 2 teams with moderate forces and are expected to face many difficulties in this year's football season. Fans are eagerly waiting for PVF-CAND's performance, after they unexpectedly got a place to play in the V.League, instead of the Quang Nam team.
