Preview:Bahia vs Fortaleza - prediction, team news, lineups

Fortaleza will try to chip away at their current relegation deficit when they travel to Arena Fonte Nova on Thursday for a date with Bahia on matchday 34 of the Brasileiro Serie A campaign.

With five league games remaining, Tricolor are fifth following a 2-2 draw at Internacional, while Fortaleza sit 19th, drawing 3-3 with Atletico Mineiro in their previous league fixture.

Match preview

While their form at the moment has been a little off, Bahia are well-positioned to earn, at worst, a place in a major South American tournament next year.

As things stand, Rogerio Ceni’s men are eight points clear of a spot in one round of the Copa Libertadores, while a victory on Thursday would guarantee them a place in the Sudamericana at worst by season’s end.

A single point on Thursday would give them 53 in 2025, one more than this team accumulated after 38 matchdays in the Brasileiro Serie A last year.

At home, this side have looked almost unstoppable for a while, winning five consecutive matches in the league at Arena Fonte Nova, conceding just once during that run.

There is still an outside possibility they can win the league, though just one Flamengo triumph would end that dream from occurring in 2025.

Bahia have won their previous three home outings against Fortaleza across all competitions, winning this exact fixture last year by a 1-0 margin.

Over the past few weeks, the club from Ceara have strung together some positive results but have not made up as much ground as they could in the overall table.

Martin Palermo’s side are riding a five-match unbeaten run into this upcoming contest, but have not won any of those last four matches in this competition.

They have themselves to blame for their current predicament, dropping 12 points domestically in 2025 when scoring first, while currently sitting five points below the relegation line.

On Thursday, they will seek just their second away triumph in the league this season, however, they have points in eight Serie A games this year as the visitors.

They are one of three teams in the top-flight that have conceded over 50 goals, with 29 of their 51 goals allowed thus far occurring on the road.

Leao do Pici have points in two of their previous three meetings with Bahia across all competitions, though they have never beaten them away from home in this competition.

Bahia Brasileiro form:

Fortaleza Brasileiro form:

Fortaleza form (all competitions):

Team News

Due to thigh problems, Bahia are likely to be missing Kayky and Gilberto on Thursday, while Gabriel Xavier is doubtful because of a calf strain and Mateo Sanabria is out with a cruciate ligament injury.

Willian Jose and Tiago Souza de Jesus Carvalho found the back of the net for them on matchday 33, enabling them to erase a 2-0 deficit and come away with a point against Internacional.

Hamstring strains are plaguing Fortaleza at the moment, with Marcelo Benevenuto, Rodrigo Oliveira dos Santos, Marinho and Weverson all dealing with that, while Joao Ricardo has a shoulder injury.

Deyverson brought his team back time and again versus Mineiro, netting a second-half hat trick to earn them a point, giving him a team-leading six in the competition this year.

Bahia possible starting lineup:

Ronaldo; Arias, Duarte, Mingo, Juba; Ribeiro, Lucas, Araujo; Ademir, Jose, Pulga

Fortaleza possible starting lineup:

Brenno; Mancuso, Gazal, Avila, Barbosa; Sasha, Pierre; Guzman, Crispim, Lopes; Deyverson

We say: Bahia 2-0 Fortaleza

While Fortaleza have shown a lot of spirit, Bahia look laser-focused and incredibly well-drilled at home, so we find it hard to believe the visitors can get anything from this match.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.