Saturday of Nghe An football

The next 2 matches of round 21 will take place on Saturday (May 3)

Hong Linh Ha Tinh, an extremely interesting “phenomenon” of V.League this season with temporary 4th place – will welcome Becamex Binh Duong at Ha Tinh Stadium. After losing to Hai Phong in the first leg (before that was 13 unbeaten matches in the first leg), under the leadership of coach Nguyen Thanh Cong, Ha Tinh continued to have a streak of 6 more unbeaten matches to not only maintain in the top half of the rankings but also rise to the top 4 to the surprise of everyone.

Notably, all 3 of their second-leg wins (including the last 2 against Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Ho Chi Minh City) took place on the opponent's field and all with the minimum score. The very tight playing style, maximizing the ability of each player to create that efficiency, makes Ha Tinh the most difficult team to defeat this season.

On the other side, Binh Duong is still struggling with a heavy loss for the 3rd time in the last 4 matches (1-3 against Nam Dinh), so the team from Thu Dau Mot - although a big name in V.League, is of course not highly rated before this match. Even with very stable performance, Ha Tinh is the team that is considered to be better.

At Lach Tray Stadium, Hai Phong hosted Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) which was also a very worth-watching match, if we recall the very “noisy” past every time these two old forces of Vietnamese football faced each other. However, every club cannot live forever with the glory of the past and must have a realistic view of the present.

The truth is that both teams have faced many difficulties this season, especially SLNA, who are still in the "danger zone" when they are only 3 points above the second-to-last position (having to play the play-off). Having lost 0-1 to SLNA in the first leg, there is no doubt that this will be an opportunity for coach Chu Dinh Nghiem and his team to reclaim the old "debt", while continuing to hope for the highest possible position at the end of the tournament. On the other side, with the motivation of the relegation race, SLNA will also be determined to get points in this match that is considered "eight taels, half a pound".