Bahia hosts Sao Paolo in the second leg of Copa do Brasil 1/8 finals. The match will be played on Thursday, May 30th at Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador)
Bahia will try to maintain the advantage gained in the first leg of the Brazilian Cup 1/8 finals against São Paulo, and the team will try to continue good performances after Machado became the head coach. Bahiaco won the away match with a 0:1 score, so they managed to turn from an underdog into a favorite of confrontation before a home return game. Will Bahia succeed?
On May 26, Bahia has gained the 7th victory with a new coach. Machado led Bahia to the championship of the state, and the team beat CRB and Londrina in the Brazilian Cup. In starting Serie A, the home stadium of Bahiaco saw the victories over Corinthians (3:2) and Avai (1:0). Being a home team, the Salvadorans lost away matches with Botafogo (3:2) and Atletico PR (1:0). And no one blamed Machado for a home draw with Sao Paulo (0:0), which was recorded 4 days before the cup match.
In the last round of Serie A, Bahia beat Fluminense (3:2), and the achievement of the 8th line in the elite division is the success of Bahiaco and of the coach personally. However, bonuses in cups are more valuable than the result in the championship that is stable. Machado slandered about a serious rotation on the eve of a return match with São Paulo, fielding the strongest lineup against Fluminense. Each regular player of Bahia won’t be fresh in the upcoming match, and the coach needs to maintain the advantage by playing at full strength. The Brazilian Cup is a priority competition.
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The same applies to strategy. The system, which implied overfilling the midfield and leaving only 1 forward, worked in both games at Morumbi, and Bahia managed to score in the last and more valuable match. Gilberto, who scored the double to the net of Fluminense, will be the lonely striker of the hosts. However, Sao Paolo plays differently. Their coach Cuca is the most famous pragmatist in the South American continent.
After 180 minutes of inefficiency with Bahia, Sao Paolo got skunked in the game with Corinthians (1:0), which shifted the Tricolor to 4th place. Having scored 11 points, the team of Cuca does not change its defensive trend. The total score of 6 rounds is only 6:3. It is the most modest result in Brasileiro.
The bad news for São Paulo is related to the calling of young forward Antony in the Brazilian national team. The Toulon talent fair is beneficial for the management but not for the coach who has problems in attack. Having equality in possession, the Tricolor managed to shoot on goal in the game with Corinthians 9 times, and only one shot was on target. Cuca should shuffle the attack, because Sao Paolo needs to win 0-2, but the coach will not give up the reliability of the defense, because the goal conceded at Fonta Nova will make the dream pipe.
The hosts will be pleased even with a draw, but I count on the ability of the visitors to make a comeback. In any case, I do not believe in the defeat of the angry grandee.
Prediction for the match: Sao Paolo to win with +0.5 handicap and Under 3.5 goals scored
