Vitoria vs Cruzeiro

Vitoria face Cruzeiro in Serie A on Sunday, 20 September 2026, at Estádio Manoel Barradas in Salvador, Bahia, with the home side managing ten confirmed absentees.

Ten players missing for Vitoria

Vitoria enter the fixture with severe squad limitations. Ten players are confirmed out: Anderson, Camutanga, Dudu, Edu, Emmanuel Martinez, Nathan Mendes, Ramon, Riccieli, and Walace are all sidelined through injury, while Baralhas is not in the squad. In addition, Caique Goncalves is listed as doubtful with an injury. Cruzeiro also travel with personnel losses, as Gabriel Pec, Jonathan Jesus, and L. Sinisterra are ruled out through injury.

Vitoria rely on nine home victories

Despite sitting 13th in Serie A with 33 points from 27 games, Vitoria have collected most of their points on their own pitch. In 13 league matches at Estádio Manoel Barradas, they have recorded nine wins, one draw, and three defeats, conceding only nine goals while scoring 17. Away from home, Cruzeiro have struggled for defensive solidity, allowing 23 goals across 13 matches while posting five wins, two draws, and six defeats, including a 1-2 loss at Santos on 13 September 2026.

Cruzeiro hold recent head-to-head control

Cruzeiro sit sixth in the table on 42 points and have controlled recent meetings between the two sides. The previous encounter on 1 April 2026 ended in a 3-0 Cruzeiro victory, following a 3-1 Cruzeiro win on 1 November 2025 and a 0-0 draw on 12 June 2025. In attack, Cruzeiro rely on Matheus Pereira, who has scored eight goals across all competitions this season, level with Vitoria top scorer Renê Sousa on eight. In recent chance quality metrics, Cruzeiro have generated 1.55 expected goals per game while allowing 1.83, compared to Vitoria creating 1.34 and conceding 1.69.

Our model leans towards a Cruzeiro win

Our model leans narrowly towards a Cruzeiro win. That call is backed by Cruzeiro's superiority in recent head-to-head fixtures and their nine-point advantage in the table, balanced against Vitoria's record of nine wins from 13 home fixtures at Estádio Manoel Barradas.