Final round of V.League 2024/25: Race for top 3 and relegation

Except for Nam Dinh Blue Steel who successfully defended the championship early, Hanoi FC won the runner-up position, the race for the top 3 position (between Hanoi Police and The Cong) as well as the race for relegation is still extremely intense and hot until the final round. All 7 matches are conducted at the same time at 5pm today, June 22.

In the top group, the two matches at Hang Day Stadium between Hanoi Police and Hai Phong and Lach Tray Stadium - where The Cong "borrowed" as their home field in the confrontation with Ho Chi Minh City Club attracted the attention of football fans.

With 1 point higher, it is clear that Hanoi Police is in control of the decision-making process as any similar result at the 2 stadiums (win, draw or lose) will help them maintain their position in the top 3. But it can be seen that only by winning will Hanoi Police automatically win the bronze medal regardless of the result at Lach Tray stadium.

In case Hanoi Police draw and The Cong win, The Cong will be the team to enter the top 3. In case Hanoi Police lose and The Cong win, both sides will have the same points, the same head-to-head index (both won 2-1 when playing at home), then the following sub-indexes will be calculated and Hanoi Police will also have the advantage (the current goal difference is 20 compared to 12).

Hai Phong drew 1-1 in the first leg, when the team's form was not as good as it is now. The team led by coach Chu Dinh Nghiem also won 3 out of the last 4 matches, including a 4-2 win over Binh Duong in round 25. Hanoi Police are also in very good form, winning all 3 recent matches with big scores.

If Hai Phong team “determined to play”, this will not be an easy match for coach Polking and his team. Meanwhile, The Cong does not have such stable performance. However, the 2-1 victory over Hanoi FC in the “Capital derby” last week was very timely, creating excitement and confidence for the whole team to aim for victory when meeting TP HCM (the first leg also ended in a 0-0 draw). Both teams are rated higher than their opponents, but anything can happen if Hai Phong and TP HCM both show their efforts in the final round.

At the bottom of the table, attention will be on the bottom 3 teams: Quang Nam, SHB Da Nang and Quy Nhon Binh Dinh. In theory, Quang Nam is of course rated the highest with the advantage of points. Coach Van Sy Son's team is certain not to be directly relegated (4 points more than the bottom team Binh Dinh), only having to compare the secondary index with the "neighbor" team Da Nang (in case the 2 teams have the same points).

Thus, if Quang Nam loses when playing away at Pleiku (against Hoang Anh Gia Lai) and Da Nang wins against Song Lam Nghe An - the team that has already secured the right to stay in the league - then the play-off position will belong to Quang Nam because of the inferior head-to-head record (each team wins 1 match, but Da Nang is better thanks to the number of goals scored by the opponent in the 2 matches).

The most disadvantaged is Quy Nhon Binh Dinh, not only in terms of points but also in terms of head-to-head index with Da Nang (even if Da Nang loses and Binh Dinh draws with Ha Noi FC, the two teams will have the same number of points, but Da Nang will play the relegation play-off while Binh Dinh will be relegated because of losing head-to-head index). Too exciting and unpredictable!

In the remaining 2 matches, champion Nam Dinh will try to win 3 points (or at least 1 point) against Ha Tinh to please the fans at Thien Truong Stadium. Meanwhile, Becamex Binh Duong will only be able to win against Thanh Hoa to be able to take the top 7 position (in the upper half of the rankings) from their opponent. Both teams have had unstable performance recently, so when put on the scale, Binh Duong has a slight advantage thanks to playing at home and having won the first leg at Thanh Hoa Stadium.

The two matches that will decide the relegation race in round 26 will be officiated by FIFA referees from Malaysia. Specifically, referee Razlan Joffri Bin Ali (born in 1985) will officiate the match between SHB Da Nang and Song Lam Nghe An at Tam Ky Stadium. Meanwhile, referee Muhammad Izzul Fikri Kamaruzaman (born in 1995) will officiate the match between Quy Nhon Binh Dinh and Hanoi FC.

Tuan Ngoc

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/vong-cuoi-vleague-202425-cuoc-dua-top-3-va-tru-hang-post552570.html