V.League 1 champions Nam Định FC can go two points clear at the top of Group B of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ on Wednesday when Mauro Jéroniimo’s side visit Bangkok United FC in Pathum Thani.
Victory for the Vietnamese side, who have won their opening two matches in the group phase of the 2025/26 Shopee Cup™, will see them climb above Johor Darul Ta’zim FC and into pole position in the quest for one of the two berths in the semi-finals.
Nam Định currently trail JDT by a point but have played one game fewer than the Malaysia Super League champions, who were held to a 2-2 draw by PKR Svay Rieng FC in Phnom Penh on December 4.
Nam Định won their opening match of the competition against Svay Rieng on September 25 before a hat-trick by Nguyễn Xuân Son earned his side a 3-0 win over Shan United FC on December 4.
“It’s not every day we can score a hat-trick,” Xuân Son said after the win in Yangon in his first appearance in the competition since recovering from long-term injury.
“I’m very happy. The team helped me a lot. The most important thing is that the team wins. It’s what I do, it’s my job to score goals.”
Bangkok United will go into the game looking for their first win in the competition after following up their opening loss against JDT with a 2-2 draw against Lion City Sailors FC from Singapore.
Lion City, meanwhile, will look to give Maxime Lestienne a winning send off from the Shopee Cup™ against Shan United at Jalan Besar Stadium after the Belgian winger announced he would leave the club later this month.
Lestienne, who joined Lion City in February 2022, scored the opener for his side in their draw with Bangkok United earlier this month before the Singapore Premier League champions allowed a two-goal advantage to slip and the points were shared.
“I think we have many chances, we have to score more goals,” Lestienne said after the draw in Pathum Thani. “We had the opportunity to score more, to kill the game. We didn’t do it and we paid for that. For the next game we have to kill the game.”
Lion City are also looking for their first win of the 2025/26 Shopee Cup™ having started the competition with a 3-1 loss against JDT at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor Bahru in August.
Shan United go into the game without a point after defeats against Svay Rieng and Nam Định.
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