Glued to the table, Bahia and Corinthians make a ‘decision’ for a place in the Libertadores

In the final stretch of the Brazilian Championship, every match is seen as a decision. But the clash between Bahia and Corinthians, this Tuesday (3), at 8pm, at Neo Química Arena, for the 37th round of Série A, really took on a final feel. At stake is a place in next year’s Copa Libertadores.

The 2-1 victory over Cuiabá, in the last round, took the Esquadrão to the classification zone for the continental tournament, but the tricolor is closely followed by the São Paulo team. With two games left of the season, Bahia occupies 7th place, with 50 points. Corinthians appears one place below, in 8th place, with the same score, but the Bahian team has an advantage in the number of victories (14 to 13), the first tiebreaker criterion.

Thanks to Botafogo’s title in the Libertadores, over Atlético-MG, last Saturday, in Buenos Aires, the G7 of the Brasileirão became the G8 and, if the championship ended at that moment, both Bahia and Corinthians would be classified for the international tournament. Given this scenario, the Squadron can mathematically guarantee classification if they beat their rival away from home.

This is because Bahia would reach 53 points and 15 wins, which would guarantee at least 8th place at the end of the Brasileirão. Corinthians could have a maximum of the same 53 points in the last round, but with 14 victories, no longer surpassing the Bahian club.

Achieving the feat, however, will be a challenge for Bahia. Corinthians is on a rise under the command of Argentine coach Ramón Díaz. The club got out of the fight against relegation and boasts seven consecutive victories, four of them at home.

Even so, coach Rogério Ceni projects an offensive team. After the game with Cuiabá, Ceni acknowledged that the team’s performance was not the best, but reinforced the fight to classify Bahia à Liberta. The club has not competed in the competition for 35 years. The last time was in 1989, after winning the 1988 Brasileirão.

“We will always play forward, with the aim of winning games. We never played defensively. If we beat Corinthians, mathematically, we will secure the place. We know the difficulty, there are seven games for Corinthians to win. If we improve our level of play, we can compete with Corinthians”, said the coach.

Bahia has no problems with cards for the duel. The only certain casualty is left-back Iago Borduchi, injured. Rezende, in the transition phase, in addition to David Duarte and Cuesta, who were left out of the last game, are doubts.

On the Corinthians side, Ramón Díaz is betting on the great form of striker Yuri Alberto. The player leads the Brasileirão’s artillery, along with Alerrandro, from Vitória, both with 13 goals.

Corinthians also has midfielder Garro and striker Memphis Depay among the players who make a difference in the offensive sector. Ramón Díaz is mysterious about the lineup and should only reveal the team minutes before the match.