The chance to break into the top 5 is here!

HAGL plays well when facing strong opponents

Unlike before, HAGL is now a pragmatic team, emphasizing efficiency and the final result. The guiding principle of the mountain town team is to prioritize the solidity of the home field, before thinking about scoring against the opponent. Therefore, coach Le Quang Trai's team often plays more clearly when facing teams that are considered "superior". Because then, the players of the Pleiku home team will be able to demonstrate their forte of defensive counter-attacking. The opponent pushing up their formation to attack also means exposing gaps behind, and HAGL will try to exploit this.

In the first leg, HAGL had scored points against the top teams, drawing with Nam Dinh Club (0-0) and Thanh Hoa Club (1-1), before surprisingly defeating Hanoi Police Club and Hanoi Club with the same score of 1-0. On the contrary, when facing opponents of equal or lower level, seeing HAGL fall into a stalemate is not too strange this season.

Washington Brandao (11) has "opened fire" for HAGL. The Brazilian striker will be a very dangerous "drill" in the counter-attacking style of the mountain town team.

In this match, the capital team is definitely rated higher and is expected to take the initiative against HAGL. This is probably what HAGL also wants, and they will wait for the opportunity when Hanoi Club shows signs of impatience. In addition, HAGL's best striker Chau Ngoc Quang has also returned after serving a suspension, while Brazilian foreign player Washington has "opened fire" with his first goal in the V-League. The important pieces are all ready, promising to help the mountain town team's moves become more unpredictable. It should be added that since the beginning of the 2024 - 2025 V-League season, coach Le Quang Trai's team has not lost any match after 6 times hosting opponents.

The opening match day of round 14 of V-League 2024 - 2025 (February 21) has only 1 match between HAGL and Hanoi Club. If they win all 3 points at home in this match, the mountain town team (currently with 17 points) will climb to the top 5 on the rankings with 20 points.

Hanoi Club wants to "recover old debts"

The match of round 14 against HAGL on the afternoon of February 20 is also the debut match of the new coach of Hanoi Club - Mr. Makoto Teguramori. This is an experienced captain and has affirmed his professional ability in the leading football country in Asia like Japan, when he led the U.23 team of the land of the rising sun. Coach Makoto Teguramori is expected to help Hanoi Club play even better in the coming time, to continue competing for the V-League championship this season.

Japanese coach Makoto Teguramori (middle) is expected to bring Hanoi FC back to the championship race.

The new Japanese coach of course wants to have an impressive "debut" with a victory against HAGL. Moreover, the Hanoi FC players are eager to win 3 points at Pleiku Stadium to "repay the debt" in the first leg, when HAGL defeated the capital team right at Hang Day Stadium. Therefore, the capital team players will enter the match with high determination.

Pham Tuan Hai was suspended.

Pham Tuan Hai will be absent from Hanoi FC's away match at HAGL's Pleiku Stadium. The Vietnamese striker has received three yellow cards so he is suspended for the match in round 14. This is a huge loss in terms of force for the capital team.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hagl-duoc-da-dung-so-truong-co-hoi-but-pha-vao-top-5-la-day-185250220192957204.htm