A place in the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil will be at stake when Bahia host Botafogo on Wednesday at Arena Fonte Nova.
This tie is all square heading to Bahia after these sides settled for a 1-1 draw in the opening leg last Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro.
Match preview
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After a rough opening 10 minutes in the first leg versus Fogo, Bahiaco persevered, scoring in the late stages of the opening half to earn a result.
It was the second time that Rogerio Ceni's men had conceded a goal at the Copa do Brasil this year and the second time in July that they came from behind to claim a result after falling behind 1-0.
Heading into this contest, they are on a six-match winless run across all competitions, scoring just a single goal or fewer in each of those outings.
You would think Bahia have the upper hand playing at home in this decisive contest, but since winning their opening seven Brasileiro Serie A fixtures in Salvador, Tricolor are winless in three successive encounters at Arena Fonte Nova, two of which were defeats.
With a victory on Wednesday, they would ensure themselves a place in the last eight of this tournament on successive occasions for the first time since 2018.
Bahia have won their last four matches when netting multiple times and have not lost when doing so since a 3-2 defeat to Vitoria in late March at the Campeonato Baianio final.
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Last week, Estrela Solitaria did something we had not seen since the 2017 edition of this tournament, avoiding defeating in the opening leg of a Copa do Brasil last 16 clash.
That was the last time they made the quarter-finals of this competition, while they have been eliminated from the Copa do Brasil round of 16 stage in each of the past two campaigns.
It has been nearly 10 years since they won a second-leg round of 16 encounter at this tournament, defeating Ceara 4-3 in September 2014.
Artur Jorge's men are currently on a five-match away unbeaten run in all competitions, defeating Atletico Goianiense 4-1 on Saturday.
Thanks to that triumph, Botafogo are three points above Flamengo for first in the Brasileiro Serie A table, though the latter have a game in hand.
Fogo have lost two of their previous three visits to Arena Fonte Nova, but they won their previous match played there last year (2-1), their first away victory against them since 2017.
Team News
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In the opening leg of this tie, Bahia were without Cicinho due to physical discomfort, Rezende was sidelined with a groin strain and Ademir did not feature because of an unknown injury.
Thanks to a goal from Cauly in stoppage time, they head into this encounter all square, with the 28-year-old netting his team-leading third of the competition.
Botafogo did not have Rafael or Jeffinho available last week due to knee issues, Matheus Nascimento and Carlos Eduardo sat out with thigh discomfort, Junior Santos is unavailable due to a broken ankle, while Tiquinho Soares could be back from a bruised knee.
An early strike courtesy of Carlos Alberto gave them the lead in their previous match against Bahia, his first at the Copa do Brasil this year.
Bahia possible starting lineup:
Felipe; Arias, Xavier, Cuesta, Juba; Alexandre; Ribeiro, Cauly, Lucas; Everaldo, Biel
Botafogo possible starting lineup:
John; Suarez, Bastos, Barboza, Cuiabano; Gregore, Tche Tche; Henrique, Savarino, Alberto; Soares
We say: Bahia 1-0 Botafogo (Bahia advances 2-1 on aggregate)
The top priority for Fogo at the moment is probably maintaining their narrow advantage atop the domestic table, so we do not expect as much urgency from them in this contest.
On the other hand, Bahia have fallen out of the Serie A title race, so we believe they will be the hungrier side on Wednesday, keen to move a step closer to winning a trophy in 2024.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
