Bahia women eye historic run, head into key Corinthians clash | OneFootball

Corinthians begin their bid for a spot in the Brazilian Women’s Championship final on Tuesday night (15). At 9:30 p.m. Brasília time, the Brabas visit Bahia at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador for the first leg of the semifinal. On the other side will be a team enjoying its best moment in the history of the national competition and one that geared its preparation toward hosting Timão.

Led by Felipe Freitas, the Women of Steel reached the knockout stage after finishing the first phase in sixth place with 29 points. In 17 matches, Bahia recorded eight wins, five draws, and four losses, in addition to scoring 30 goals and conceding 21.

Photo: Rebeca Reis / Staff Images Woman/CBF

That campaign set up a quarterfinal clash with Palmeiras for the Bahia side. Both matches ended in 1-1 draws, sending the decision to penalties. In the shootout, Bahia came out on top and reached the Brasileirão Feminino semifinals for the first time.

Yanne also played an important role in securing qualification. The goalkeeper stood out in the clashes against Palmeiras and arrives as one of Bahia’s main players for the match against Corinthians.

Bahia arrive unbeaten in recent matches

In addition to enjoying the best campaign in their history in the Brasileirão Feminino, Bahia head into the match against Corinthians unbeaten in their most recent games. The Women of Steel have not been defeated in their last five fixtures, considering both the Brazilian Championship and the Bahia state championship.

The streak began precisely against the Brabas. On August 15, Bahia and Corinthians drew 1-1 at Arena Fonte Nova in the first phase of the Brasileirão. In the following round, on August 22, the Bahia side drew again, this time 2-2 with Juventude away from home.

After that, Bahia began their quarterfinal tie against Palmeiras. In the first meeting, held on August 31 at Fonte Nova, there was another 1-1 draw. The same scoreline was repeated in the return leg on September 4 at Arena Barueri. With the aggregate score also level, qualification was decided on penalties, and the Women of Steel won 5-4, securing a historic place among the top four teams in the country.

Their most recent match came in the Bahia Women’s Championship. On September 7, Bahia opened their state campaign with a 5-0 rout of Jacuipense. Since then, the team have not taken the field again and had an eight-day break without matches before hosting Corinthians.

As a result, Bahia’s recent record stands at five matches unbeaten in regulation time, with one win and four draws, in addition to the penalty-shootout qualification over Palmeiras. Their last defeat came before this run.

Bahia had a week focused on facing the Brabas

The importance of the semifinal also changed Bahia’s planning in recent days. The club postponed its match against Botafogo-BA in the second round of the Bahia Women’s Championship to extend the preparation period for the national clash.

That means the Women of Steel last played on September 7. On that occasion, Bahia thrashed Jacuipense 5-0 in their state championship opener. Before that, they had eliminated Palmeiras in the Brasileirão.

The squad wrapped up preparations to face Corinthians this Monday (14) at CT Evaristo de Macedo. Felipe Freitas worked on offensive and defensive organization, as well as set-piece drills and penalty kicks.

Probable lineup and absences

Despite the longer preparation period, Bahia’s coach will have problems mainly in defense. Rute, Aila, Nalon and Carol Martins are injured. Treyci and Ellen, meanwhile, are doing transition work. On the other hand, Maia Rodrigues could be included in the squad list. The forward has recovered from injury and is available again to the coaching staff.

Bahia’s probable lineup against the Brabas is Yanne; Mila Santos, Vilma, Tchula and Ángela Gómez; Raquel, Suelen and Ju Oliveira; Wendy Rosa, Roqueline and Cássia.

Rematch after draw in the first phase

Bahia and Corinthians have already faced each other in this edition of the Brazilian Women’s Championship. The meeting took place on August 15, also at Arena Fonte Nova, and ended in a 1-1 draw.

At that time, the teams were still competing in the first phase. After 17 rounds, Corinthians finished in second place with 38 points, while the Women of Steel advanced in sixth with 29.

In the quarterfinals, their paths were different. While Bahia needed penalties to get past Palmeiras, the Brabas won both matches against Cruzeiro and reached their 10th consecutive semifinal in the tournament.

This Tuesday’s match will be only the first half of the tie. Having had the better campaign in the qualifying phase, Corinthians will decide the place in the final in front of their home crowd. The second leg is scheduled for next Monday (21) at 9:30 p.m. at Neo Química Arena.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.