LPBank V-League Round 16: The 'Early Finals'

Prior to Round 16 of the V-League 2025/26, the competition's landscape is tightening at both the top and bottom of the table. This week's highlight matches are Ninh Bình taking on CAHN and SHB Đà Nẵng encountering HAGL.

Not even mentioning those two matches, the strong resurgence of SLNA currently also deserves mention. The team from Nghệ region is quietly becoming a phenomenon of the league with 4 wins in their last 5 matches. Coach Văn Sỹ Sơn's squad is drawing much attention as from a club singled out in the bottom group struggling to stay up, SLNA has risen to 8th place with 19 points. This result brings SLNA closer to their survival target.

The team from Nghệ is writing one of the most notable stories of the season. That makes things difficult for Hanoi FC, despite playing at home at Hàng Đẫy Stadium this week.

Đỗ Hoàng Hên and his teammates are buoyed by defeating Công an Hà Nội, the city rival that had remained unbeaten until Round 15. However, Coach Harry Kewell's spirited squad forced the league leaders to accept defeat. Hanoi FC currently has 24 points, ranking 4th with 11 points less than the top team and still harboring ambitions to compete for the title this year.

Hoàng Hên is currently the most prominent name in the league, having scored 6 goals in 9 matches. This striker's form brings great hope to Coach Harry Kewell's team. Moreover, Hanoi FC has a knack for defeating SLNA.

Specifically, although Coach Văn Sỹ Sơn's team is not easy to play against, during their recent impressive run, the Nghệ region team suffered one defeat precisely against Hanoi FC. If they beat SLNA, Hanoi FC will put more pressure on the Top 3.

Ninh Bình, currently ranked above Hanoi FC, understands what will happen if their recent poor streak continues. Ninh Bình has 28 points and has not won for 4 consecutive matches (3 losses, 1 draw), including a draw that felt like a loss against SHB Đà Nẵng, who are at the very bottom of the table, right at home last week.

The challenge of facing Công an Hà Nội at this moment can be considered the ultimate test for Coach Vũ Tiến Thành and his team. This is the marquee match of Round 16 and promises to attract significant attention. Ninh Bình has home advantage and a thirst to "break their curse" after suffering a painful loss to this same opponent in the first leg. Currently, Công an Hà Nội, while still leading the table with 35 points, is also showing signs of fatigue after stumbling in the previous round.

Coach Alexandre Polking's squad shows they are not an invincible team. Strikers like Đình Bắc, Alan… seem to feel the weight, fatigue in both legs and spirit after the series of matches gone through.

Ninh Bình has an opportunity to narrow the gap, and only by winning can the team from the ancient capital maintain hope of competing for the title against this opponent. This match also carries significant meaning as the two teams have up to 13 players in the preliminary list of the Vietnam national team. Pressure thus grows larger, not only regarding points but also in demonstrating individual form.

The team ranked 2nd, Thể Công Viettel, can hope that their competing rivals do not get favorable results this round to move up. Hải Phòng currently is not a match for Coach Velizar Popov and his team.

Coach Chu Đình Nghiêm's team is under much pressure after 4 matches with only draws and losses, dropping to 6th place. If they do not improve their form, Hải Phòng could well be exposed again as in the first leg against Thể Công Viettel, which possesses impressive names like Văn Khang or Lucao. The Brazilian striker is ranked 2nd in the top scorers list and has ample motivation to score against his former club.

In the bottom group, the survival battle is very heated with many matches bearing the nature of "early finals". Among them, SHB Đà Nẵng thirsts to reclaim the debt of a minimal loss to HAGL in the first leg.

After that defeat, SHB Đà Nẵng has improved with 4 points from their last two matches. Meanwhile, HAGL has suffered only losses during this period. Trung Kiên and his teammates face the risk of continuing to slide as General Director Vũ Tiến Thành moved to Ninh Bình.

Currently SHB Đà Nẵng has 11 points and ranks 13th, only 3 points behind HAGL ranked 11th, but SHB Đà Nẵng still has one match pending. If they continue to achieve good results at Chi Lăng Stadium, Coach Lê Đức Tuấn and his team can completely change the landscape of the survival race.

At Thiên Trường Stadium, Nam Định is also predicted to break away from the bottom group as they have the advantage of hosting Thanh Hóa. The visiting team is facing many difficulties regarding squad strength as well as financial issues, while Nam Định shows strong signs of revival.

Xuân Son is very eager to score and often has a knack on his familiar home ground, promising to bring additional strength to the Nam team. The imminent gathering of the Vietnam national team provides motivation for the 29-year-old striker to score against the Thanh region team. Therefore, Thanh Hóa is likely to remain stationary after Round 16.

Meanwhile, Becamex TP.HCM will host Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh in a match seen as an opportunity for the home team to accumulate points. With 15 points and 10th position, General Director Đặng Trần Chỉnh's team still needs more positive results to avoid being dragged into the survival vortex.