Vitória welcomes Jacuipense with the aim of remaining leader of Baianão

To remain at the top of the Bahia Championship, Vitória’s mission is to continue winning. This Sunday (19), the red and black team will have another chance to shoot for first place against Jacuipense, a team coached by Leão idol Rodrigo Chagas. The clash, valid for the third round of Baianão, starts at 4pm at Barradão.

After overcoming Adauto Moraes’ pitch and beating Juazeirense 4-1, Vitória reached the top of the competition, with four points from two matches. The red and black team is tied for the lead with Porto, Atlético de Alagoinhas and the rival of the round, but stands out in relation to the other teams due to the number of goals scored.

For the confrontation, coach Thiago Carpini will not be able to count on the starting defense duo in the first games of the season. According to president Fábio Mota, Edu and Caio Vinícius were injured after making a mistake on the Adauto Moraes lawn. The pair were replaced during the second round. With this, Zé Marcos should return to playing as a defender. At your side, a doubt. The only right-hander available at the position is Neris, who could make his season debut. However, Carpini could come up with a surprise in the game to save money for the Copa do Nordeste in midweek.

The goal conceded by Leão da Barra against Juazeirense happened at a time when the team had midfielder Léo Naldi improvised in defense. The number five even failed to score. During a press conference after the match, the coach asked for patience at the beginning of the season and highlighted that the defense is still going to get its act together.

“We are only in the second round, there were eight days of training. We finished the year very well with Neris and Wagner Leonardo and they didn’t even play. Calm. We need time. We played with Caio Vinícius, who has been adapting, then Léo Naldi, who has never been a defender in his life. Failures are part of it. It’s not a sector that concerns me. Everything is as expected, but there is a lot to be improved and adjusted”, he explained.

Once the headache in the defense duo has been resolved, the tendency is for Hugo to start his first match as a starter for Vitória. The midfield should have the return of midfielder Pablo, as well as the attack being made up of three attackers. As mentioned after the last game, the Bahia Championship for Carpini will be the opportunity to give more minutes to the athletes on the squad. With this, it is possible that new surprises appear in the team, such as midfielder Val Soares.

In all competitions, Vitória and Jacuipense have faced each other 10 times in history, with five results for the team from the capital, two draws and three triumphs for Leão do Sisal. As home team, there were six clashes. In this period, Vitória came away with three points in half of the matches, while drawing two games and losing only once.