Round 4 of the Sacombank V.League 2, Vietnam's second tier (also called the First Division), runs from Thursday 22 October to Saturday 24 October. VPF, the league organiser, picks out Friday's meeting in Bình Dương between Becamex TP.HCM (7 points) and leaders Thái Nguyên, the newly promoted side who have won all three games so far. Hưng Yên and Khánh Hòa, also on seven points, both play at home, although Hưng Yên will be without head coach Bùi Đoàn Quang Huy in the technical area.

Round 4 schedule

All times are Vietnam time (ICT, UTC+7). Venues and broadcasters are from VPF's published schedule, which does not list a channel for Hưng Yên v Long An.

DateTimeMatchVenueTV / streaming
Thu 22 Oct17:00Đại học Văn Hiến v Bình Minh Sài GònBà RịaFPT Play, HTV4, MyTV, TV360
Thu 22 Oct18:00Xuân Thiện Phú Thọ v Công an Nhân dânViệt TrìFPT Play, TV360
Fri 23 Oct17:00Khánh Hòa v Thép Cần Thơ19/8 Nha TrangFPT Play, TV360
Fri 23 Oct18:00Becamex TP.HCM v Thái NguyênBình DươngFPT Play, TV360
Fri 23 Oct18:00Quy Nhơn United v Lâm ĐồngQuy NhơnFPT Play, TV360
Sat 24 Oct15:30Huế v TP.HCMTự DoFPT Play, HTV4, MyTV, TV360
Sat 24 Oct18:00Hưng Yên v Long AnPVF—

A real test for Thái Nguyên

Thái Nguyên have a perfect record and a goal difference of +7 after beating Quy Nhơn United 2-1, Bình Minh Sài Gòn 3-0 and Huế 4-1. VPF says the newcomers have already shown their ambition in their first season in the division, but expects the trip to Bình Dương to be a sterner test against experienced opponents. Becamex TP.HCM, who were in V.League 1 last season, are unbeaten too and came from behind to win the derby against TP.HCM 2-1 last weekend. A home win would put Becamex above Thái Nguyên; an away win would stretch the leaders' advantage, VPF notes. Bongdaplus sees both as title and promotion contenders, while describing Becamex as "not yet truly stable" despite a highly rated squad.

Hưng Yên without their coach

Hưng Yên, second on goal difference (+10), host Long An (one point, 11th) at the PVF stadium on Saturday evening. Tuổi Trẻ reports that Quang Huy was booked in the 78th minute against Thép Cần Thơ, the 74th against Xuân Thiện Phú Thọ and the 63rd in the draw with Công an Nhân dân, each time for protesting refereeing decisions, making him the first coach banned in this season's competition. Assistants Mai Tiến Thành and Nguyễn Lương Phúc will take charge on the touchline, according to Tuổi Trẻ and SGGP. SGGP adds that Hưng Yên, renamed from Trẻ PVF and targeting one of the two promotion places, have the league's best attack with 12 goals. We reported the ban on 20 October. SGGP also lists three players suspended after three yellow cards: Đỗ Minh Quang (Bình Minh Sài Gòn), Nguyễn Đình Mạnh (Khánh Hòa) and Võ Hoàng Uy (Long An).

Elsewhere in the round

Đại học Văn Hiến (4 points), beaten 3-0 by newcomers Lâm Đồng, meet Bình Minh Sài Gòn (6), who beat Quy Nhơn United 3-1. Nguyễn Đức Thắng's Công an Nhân dân (4) visit bottom side Xuân Thiện Phú Thọ (1) without a win in two games since their opening victory. Unbeaten Khánh Hòa (7) host Thép Cần Thơ (4), known as Quảng Ninh last season, while Quy Nhơn United (1) and Huế (1) are still looking for a first win when they host Lâm Đồng (3) and TP.HCM (3).

Standings after round 3

PosTeamW-D-LGDPts
1Thái Nguyên3-0-0+79
2Hưng Yên2-1-0+107
3Khánh Hòa2-1-0+47
4Becamex TP.HCM2-1-0+37
5Bình Minh Sài Gòn2-0-1+16
6Thép Cần Thơ1-1-1-14
7Công an Nhân dân1-1-1-24
8Đại học Văn Hiến1-1-1-24
9Lâm Đồng1-0-203
10TP.HCM1-0-2-13
11Long An0-1-2-21
12Quy Nhơn United0-1-2-31
13Huế0-1-2-51
14Xuân Thiện Phú Thọ0-1-2-91

Source: KBVN+ standings data. Three teams sit two points behind Thái Nguyên, so a slip by the leaders in Bình Dương could change the top of the table.

What comes next

Round 5 follows on 27 and 28 October, including Becamex TP.HCM v Thép Cần Thơ (18:00, 27 October), Long An v Thái Nguyên (15:30, 28 October) and Hưng Yên v Huế (18:00, 28 October, Vietnam time), when Quang Huy can return to the bench. Follow Becamex TP.HCM v Thái Nguyên and the live table on our V.League 2 page.