Before Round 10 of the First Division: The Tense Promotion Race

The battle to secure the 1.5 promotion tickets to the V-League next season is very exciting and incredibly hard to forecast.

The first three matches of round 10 will be held on Friday (27/2).

At Thong Nhat Stadium, the newcomers VHU (12 pts) will have the home advantage as they host Long An (8 pts). In terms of reputation and tradition, Long An is far superior. However, their glorious past is now distant, and the visiting team, in reality, is still facing numerous difficulties for survival. This is a relatively balanced match in terms of the two sides' actual strength.

Next is the coastal derby between Khatoco Khanh Hoa (16 pts) and Quy Nhon United (14 pts) – both are, in theory, candidates in the race for the top 3, even for the play-off spot (the runner-up position). The 0-2 loss to HCMC FC before the Tet break caused Khanh Hoa to temporarily lose the 2nd place in the table to this very opponent. But being only 1 point behind means that if they win this match, Khanh Hoa will continue to maintain their competitive chances before entering the final match of the first leg.

The match between Truong Tuoi Dong Nai (21 pts, leading the table) and Dong Thap (6 pts, second from the bottom) is of a completely different nature. This pair can be likened to mismatched chopsticks: one side is the number one candidate with a strong squad, high ambitions, and stable form, while the other is a representative from the Mekong Delta without any "stars," only able to strive to pocket every point for the goal of staying in the league. After 9 matches, Dong Thap has only lost 3, but all their other 6 matches ended in draws.

The next two matches will be held on Saturday (28/2).

In the "newcomer derby," Bac Ninh FC (16 pts, temporarily ranked 4th) is naturally rated higher than Quang Ninh (11 pts), especially since Coach Foiani's team has the home advantage at Viet Yen Stadium. However, it was right here that the Quan ho representative previously lost 0-2 to VHU. In the match before the Lunar New Year break, BNFC also had a rather hard-fought victory (2-1) against Long An. On the other side, the representative from the Mining region is having form issues with a streak of 4 winless matches, including losing both away matches against HCMC and Xuan Thien Phu Tho.

The "youth derby" between PVF-CAND Youth (11 pts) and Ho Chi Minh City Youth (3 pts) is also assessed to have the winning chances heavily tilted towards the home team. Although newly promoted from the Second Division and in a context of being almost... unprepared, Coach Duy Dong's students have shown confidence and played quite effectively (2 wins, 5 draws, 2 losses). In contrast, HCMC Youth is almost in an uncontrollable decline, currently being the team with the highest risk of relegation if they do not make necessary changes soon.

The latest match takes place on Sunday (1/3) at Viet Tri Stadium, where the newcomers Xuan Thien Phu Tho (9 pts) will host HCMC FC (17 pts). The difference in the status and form of the two sides naturally places the visiting team in the upper echelon. However, the aspiration and determination of XTPT, coupled with their home advantage, will somewhat blur this theoretical gap. In other words, although rated lower, Coach Le Quoc Vuong and his players can still fully aim for a draw.

A First Division Club will penalize any overweight player after the Tet holiday

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