Thanh Hoa vs Cong An Ha Noi

Thanh Hoa Stadium is the venue as Vietnam League 1 pacesetters Thanh Hoa meet newly-promoted Cong An Ha Noi in an exciting match-up.

Thanh Hoa fought back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to hold Binh Duong to a 1-1 away draw last time out, maintaining the aura of invincibility, as they head into proceedings as the only League 1 team to go unbeaten in all ten opening league games (W6, L4). Since a goalless draw against SLNA in their opening top-flight home outing in February, they’ve won their last four home league matches by an aggregate score of 13-6, netting 3+ goals in two of the most recent three. Significantly more prolific after the break, Velizar Popov’s men have netted 69% of their League 1 home goals in the second half of play (9/13).

In the meantime, Cong An Ha Noi’s lift in the Vietnamese top flight has been off to a promising start after conquering the second tier almost effortlessly last season. Indeed, after losing two of their opening three League 1 matches (W1), the visitors have gone unbeaten in seven on the trot (W4, D3). Yet, an uneventful 0-0 home draw against Khanh Hoa last time out halted Cong An’s impressive four-match winning streak, though it marked only their third league clean sheet this season. By contrast, Flavio Cruz’s lads failed to register a shutout on all five competitive travels in 2023, including a goal-glutted 5-3 win at Ho Chi Minh on their most recent road trip.