Bahia and Flamengo meet on Sunday at 18h30 at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador in the 31ª rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, a game that can move both ends of the table. Premiere will broadcast the match, and ge will follow it in Tempo Real with videos exclusively.
For Bahia, the timing matters because Rogério Ceni’s side arrives after beating Mirassol and climbing to fifth with 49 points. Acevedo is back from suspension and is expected to replace Caio Alexandre, while Ceni may also alter the right side of the defense between Marcos Victor and Roman Gomez. Bahia has not lost at Arena Fonte Nova in eight matches and has won three straight there, which makes this a test of whether that home run can keep carrying them into the fight for direct Libertadores qualification.
Flamengo comes in without a loss in 10 matches, but the pressure is still immediate. On Thursday, it drew 0-0 with Estudiantes in the first leg of the Libertadores semifinal, and on Saturday Palmeiras beat Athletico-PR to move into the lead. That leaves Flamengo needing a victory in Salvador to go back to the top of the Campeonato Brasileiro, even with Jorginho returning after suspension and several absences still shaping the plan.
The list of missing players shows how narrow the margins are for both sides. Arrascaeta and Danilo remain out while recovering from fractures, Ayrton Lucas and Evertton Araújo are still in the final phase of transition after injuries, and Saúl will miss out after the blow he suffered against Estudiantes. Léo Vieira is Bahia’s injury absentee, and Wilton Pereira Sampaio will referee with Pablo Ramon Goncalves Pinheiro as VAR.
The match is set up as a referendum on pace and recovery: Bahia trying to turn a strong home record into a bigger push up the table, and Flamengo trying to manage short rest while refusing to let Palmeiras hold first place for long. By Sunday night, one of those runs will still be intact, and the other will need a reset.
