Atletico Paranaese vs Bahia Predictions

Thursday’s Copa Sudamericana quarter final, second leg action sees Brazilians Atletico PR and Bahia doing battle once again. It’s the hosts in pole position to advance to the semi-finals, after winning the first leg 1-0.

Given how poor they’ve been away from home in 2018, Atletico PR’s victory in Salvador last week certainly wasn’t expected but now has them in a very comfortable position. Furacão showed excellent defensive resolve in the trip, withstanding a barrage of Bahia pressure and managed to steal a crucial goal with one of their only chances on the night.

Now back in front of the home crowd, Atletico will be extremely confident of finishing the job off. Tiago Nunes’ troops have been in simply scintillating form at the Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães in recent months, winning a staggering 12 matches in a row whilst scoring a huge average of 2.66 goals a game and having been rested for the weekend win over Botafogo, those taking to the pitch will be fully focused on extending said streak.

Meanwhile, Bahia really needed to win the first leg to have any hope of booking a semi-final spot and they’ve now left themselves facing an almost impossible task. Far from accustomed to reaching this point of continental action, Tricolor have done well to even come this far, but their Sudamericana journey certainly looks like coming to an end on Thursday.

That’s mainly because, in addition to Atletico’s home strength, the visitors are typically very weak on their travels and don’t appear capable of standing up to the challenge that awaits. All in all, Enderson Moreira’s men have won just 1 of their last 7 outings on enemy territory, losing 5 times in the process, illustrating the issues they have as visitors.

Ultimately, you’d back Atletico against just about anyone on their own patch and that’s certainly the case against a Bahia outfit that’s far from convincing away from home. Additionally, Atletico arrive with legs fresh after making multiple changes over the weekend, whereas Bahia had to use their regular starters in their defeat at Corinthians, given they find themselves in a relegation scrap.

All factors point towards a home win in this clash and at current prices, that’s something we’re more than happy to back with maximum confidence. It’s very difficult to envisage Atletico throwing away their lead and we think they’ll progress in style, via a 2-0 margin of victory.