Sunday 25th May – Kick Off (22:30 GMT)

Vitória
Vitória sit just above the drop zone on goal difference; their goal differential at minus three narrowly keeps them ahead of Grêmio, who sit on minus six. With things tight at the bottom, Vitória will be hoping to pick up points in the coming weeks to avoid slipping into the relegation zone.

Last time out in the Brasileirão, they took on bitter rivals Bahia and suffered a 2-1 defeat. The match got off to a dramatic start with Bahia’s Jean Lucas sent off inside five minutes, handing Vitória a huge advantage. Despite that, Erick Pulgar gave Bahia the lead before Renato Kayzer equalised in the second half. Bahia responded quickly, with Michel Araujo restoring their lead and to compound Vitória’s frustration, they lost their numerical edge when Pepê was shown red in the 71st minute, reducing both sides to ten men.

After a disappointing derby loss, Vitória will now be aiming to bounce back. With no midweek fixtures to contend with, they come into this match as the fresher of the two sides, and they’ll be hoping to make that count.

Santos
Santos have endured a miserable return to the top tier of Brazilian football. They currently sit second from bottom in the table with just one win, two draws, and six defeats from their opening nine matches, a worrying run that has fans growing increasingly concerned.

Last time out in the league, they faced fellow São Paulo-based side Corinthians and suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat, with Yuri Alberto scoring the only goal in the second half.

Midweek brought more disappointment for Peixe. Facing CRB in the Copa do Brasil, they were held to a second consecutive 0-0 draw, sending the tie to penalties, where Santos crashed out of the competition in frustrating fashion.

One silver lining for Santos is the return of Neymar, who came back into the side after a month out through injury. The club will now be desperately hoping that their star man can spark a turnaround in form, as performances must improve quickly to avoid being dragged deeper into the relegation battle.

Prediction – Vitória 2-1 Santos