Away campaign is an additional challenge for Bahia in the final stretch of the Brasileirão

Fighting for a place in the next Copa Libertadores, Bahia has just three more games to avoid frustration and secure their main objective away from home. In the final stretch of Series A, in addition to the crisis on the field, the tricolor will have to overcome an additional challenge: the campaign away from home.

Of the Squadron’s last three games of the year, two will be away from Salvador. The first of them tomorrow, against Cuiabá, at 7:30 pm, at Arena Pantanal. On Tuesday, the opponent will be Corinthians, at the Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo. The problem is that playing away from Salvador represents a headache for the Bahian team in the Brazilian Championship.

In 17 championship games, Bahia won just three. The team also recorded five draws and suffered nine defeats. The 27.5% success rate leaves Rogério Ceni’s team in 13th place taking into account only the away matches.

The last time the tricolor won away from Fonte Nova was on August 17: they beat Grêmio 2-0, at the Alfredo Jaconi stadium, in Caxias do Sul.

Improving performance away from home will be essential if the club wants to go to the Libertadores. With 47 points, Tricolor is currently in 8th place, one distance from Cruzeiro, which is in 7th and closes the classification zone.

To make matters worse, in addition to the seven-game fast that Bahia is experiencing in the Brasileirão, to return from the Central-West with three points in its bag, the team will have to do something unprecedented: beat Cuiabá for the first time in history.

Bahia has never won the Dourado, whether at home or away. The cutout is small, just five games, with three draws and two victories for the rival. This year, the auriverde beat Bahia 2×1, in Fonte Nova, in the first round.

“It’s about doing our best, taking advantage and delivering our best on the field. The Cuiabá team is very difficult, a physical team, you have to compete at the highest level possible. We have to be focused, even though they are mathematically relegated, there are players who will want to show their work, their best performance, and we want it too. We have a clear objective, which is the Libertadores, we have to enter very focused, an away game in which we have to perform at the highest level to achieve triumphs”, he explained.

According to data from the mathematics department at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), the probability of Bahia going to the Libertadores increased after the draw between Cruzeiro and Grêmio, in the 35th round. Now, the Bahian team appears with a 32.7% chance of qualifying. Cruzeiro itself appears with a lower percentage: 27%. However, the tricolor needs to win again.

If they get the six points against Cuiabá and Atlético-GO, teams already relegated, Bahia will reach 53 points, which according to UFMG represents 84.2%. There would still be a direct confrontation with Corinthians. The black and white team is tied with the Esquadrão, with the same 47 points, but has one less victory. With 56 points, 99.9% of playing in the Libertadores.

“Only by winning will we achieve our goal. We know we are in debt in the last few matches, but we are working. We have to go to Cuiabá and play a strong game. We know how difficult it will be, it is an opponent that is already mathematically relegated, but it is a strong opponent. In football you no longer find players who will abandon the game, they will want to show in the same way. It will be an adverse situation, but we will be focused to win the three points. And in the next game, after Cuiabá, it will be a direct confrontation for the Libertadores”, added Caio.