Vitoria BA VS Chapecoense SC

Vitoria will welcome Chapecoense to Barradao in a Brasileiro Serie A meeting with both sides under pressure for points, although their situations are very different. Vitoria sit 13th with 33 points from 27 matches and are four points clear of the relegation zone, but their recent form has been inconsistent. After beating Gremio 1-0, they surrendered a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw against Mirassol before suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Cruzeiro. Those results have highlighted a worrying tendency to lose control of matches after taking the lead. Rene has nevertheless been a major positive, scoring four goals across his last three league appearances. Vitoria have also been considerably stronger at home, where they collected 25 points from their opening 11 matches. Chapecoense face a much more difficult challenge as they remain at the bottom of the standings with only 18 points from 27 matches. Their 2-1 comeback victory over Corinthians earlier in September briefly offered hope of a revival, but defeats to Internacional and a 1-1 draw with Atletico-MG showed that consistency remains elusive. The biggest concern is their defensive record, with Chapecoense conceding 53 goals while scoring only 29. Although they finally ended a 19-match scoring drought against Atletico-MG, their defensive frailties continue to undermine their efforts to climb away from danger. The April meeting between the sides ended 1-1, suggesting that Chapecoense may be capable of making this contest competitive despite their difficult league position.