VietNamNet Bridge – Binh Duong have little chance of winning the V-League title this season, but they are potentially a title spoiler as all three leading candidates will end up facing the former two-time champion in their bid to win.

Passing through: Dany Van Bakel of Becamex Binh Duong marked Ninh Binh striker Samsung during a V-League match in May. Binh Duong are expected to be title spoilers when they play against three tournament leaders in the remaining rounds of the season. (Photo: VNS)
With six rounds remaining and a not-over-five-point gap between the three top teams, the race for the title is heating up once again among Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA), SHB Da Nang and Ha Noi T&T.

Any of these teams that lose to Binh Duong, who have enough qualified players to beat any team, will probably not win the title.

Trailing four points behind leader SLNA, Da Nang will likely stay on the heels of SLNA until its away encounter against Binh Duong in the penultimate round, when a defeat could be the end for Da Nang.

Meanwhile, SLNA will have a slightly tougher schedule in its bid to win the first title after 10 years.

The V-League 2001 champion will face Binh Duong in the 22nd round and Ha Noi T&T in the last round of the season, with both of these important games at home.

SLNA must not lose to Binh Duong if they do not want to face highly risk of playing the title decider against Ha Noi T&T in the last round. SLNA also have to play against Hoang Anh Gia Lai in the semi-final match at the National Cup as the V-League has two rounds remaining.

Ha Noi T&T are probably in the toughest situation as they have three difficult games against SLNA, Binh Duong and Dong Thap. But the advantage is that the team play two later teams at home.

Because of the predicted difficulty in the games against SLNA, a victory against Binh Duong could prove to be crucial for the defending champion.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News