Cuiaba Esporte Clube v Bahia

Cuiaba vs Bahia Preview

The Brazilian top flight action continues this weekend and Saturday afternoon features this upcoming clash between Cuiaba and Bahia with both teams looking to break into the top 12 pack in the Serie A table with a win here.

Cuiaba currently occupy 13th place in the Serie A standings but they trail 12th placed Cruzeiro by a three-point margin so the hosts know they must take all three points in order to have a chance of at least drawing level on points with their closest rivals in the table.

Although Cuiaba had previously struggled for form recently as the hosts had failed to win any of their last three matches which included back-to-back defeats to Botafogo and Vasco da Gama, Cuiaba at least grabbed all three points last time out with a resounding and comprehensive 3-0 home win against Santos.

The hosts had also failed to win any of their preceding five games at home as well before the result against Santos, while five of their last nine home games have resulted in Under 2.5 goals.

Bahia have dropped down to 15th place in the Brazilian top flight table following recent losses to Fluminense and Gremio, both by 2-1 margins, and the visitors have managed to win just once in their last nine matches overall, so the prospects of an away win here at Cuiaba look fairly unlikely.

Within these nine games, Bahia have lost five of these matches as they have been handed defeats by the likes of Santos, Flamengo, Internacional, Fluminense and Gremio while results away from home have left plenty of room for improvement for Reanato Paiva's side.

The visitors have managed to capture just one win from their last 11 outings on their travels which includes eight defeats within this poor period of results and goals could be in short supply as six of Bahia's last 11 away games have also resulted in Under 2.5 goals.

In addition, Bahia have failed to score in seven of these previous 11 games on the road (63.6%) and their lack of punch up front may well contribute to a low-scoring affair at the Arena Pantanal on Saturday afternoon.

Cuiaba v Bahia Verdict

There have only been two previous encounters between Cuiaba and Bahia but both of these clashes ended in draws, 0-0 and 1-1 respectively, and with both games also ending in Under 2.5 goals as well, so this upcoming clash on Saturday could be as equally cagey between these two sides at the Arena Pantanal.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 3.30

Correct score: 1-1 @ 6.00