Thanh Hoa needs 3 points at home.

The next two matches of Round 20 of the V.League 2025/26 take place today, April 25th.

The match between Dong A Thanh Hoa and PVF-CAND is noteworthy due to the current positions of the two teams: one is ranked third from the bottom, while the other is second to last (meaning they will have to play a play-off match against the runner-up of the First Division ).

No one can doubt the fighting spirit of the Thanh Hoa team. Even in the most difficult times, they remain united, striving to accumulate more points in the hope of successfully avoiding relegation. On the other hand, PVF-CAND continues to struggle despite changing coaches twice this season (after Thach Bao Khanh, they were replaced by Nguyen Thanh Cong and Tran Tien Dai).

With only a one-point lead over Da Nang (who are at the bottom of the table), PVF-CAND's most important immediate goal is to successfully "protect" their position to avoid direct relegation at the end of the season. A win would give Thanh Hoa a fairly safe distance (7 points) from their opponent.

Conversely, if PVF-CAND wins, they will not only increase their chances in the head-to-head race with Da Nang but also put direct pressure on Dong A Thanh Hoa before the remaining rounds. Therefore, calling this a "reverse final" match is perhaps not an exaggeration. The two teams shared points in the first leg, so this match is predicted to tip in favor of the home team, Thanh Hoa.

At Binh Duong Stadium, Becamex Ho Chi Minh City (BHCMC) hosted Thep Xanh Nam Dinh with the hope of securing points after losing their last two matches (against Ninh Binh FC and Hanoi FC).

It's noticeable that the positions of both teams have changed significantly since BHCMC secured all three points at Thien Truong Stadium in the first leg of round 7. At that time, BHCMC was ranked 9th, while Nam Dinh had dropped to 10th place.

Another noteworthy statistic is that Nam Dinh has won 3 consecutive away matches (against PVF-CAND, Ha Tinh, and Da Nang in the most recent round), thus temporarily rising to 6th place (and even having high hopes of competing for a top 5 spot), while BHCMC remains almost "stuck" in 10th place. Therefore, even when playing at home, BHCMC is only considered to be able to almost equalize the situation with the reigning champions.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thanh-hoa-can-3-diem-tren-san-nha.html