Vitória host Chapecoense at the Estádio Manoel Barradas on 7 October 2026, a Série A fixture that finds the two sides in very different places: Vitória 13th with 33 points from 28 games and a goal difference of minus 14, four points clear of the drop and looking to add some mid table breathing room, whereas Chapecoense arrive bottom with just 18 points from 27 matches, trailing safety by a margin that is beginning to look insurmountable with games running out. Both squads are so heavily depleted that available bodies will probably matter more than tactics.
Jair Ventura, appointed on 24 September 2025 after replacing Fábio Carille, faces Rafael Lacerda, who took charge of Chapecoense on 30 May 2026 after replacing Fábio Matias. Lacerda holds the edge in their personal head to head with three wins and one draw from four meetings, which at least gives Ventura something to concentrate the mind as he approaches his first anniversary at the club.
Vitória's last five reads loss, draw, win, loss, loss, the results swinging between a 1-0 win over Grêmio on 8 September, a 2-2 draw with Mirassol the following week and a 1-3 defeat at Cruzeiro on 20 September that illustrated just how brittle this backline can be. Chapecoense's corresponding run reads draw, loss, win, loss, win, featuring a 1-1 draw at Atlético Mineiro on 19 September, a 1-2 reverse at Internacional on 12 September and a 2-1 win over Corinthians on 6 September, the kind of erratic sequence that makes them genuinely difficult to read.
Vitória are without Baralhas (thigh), Camutanga (foot fracture) and Nathan Mendes (knee surgery), all ruled out for the rest of the year alongside Dudu, Edu and Ramon, with Walace and Mateus Silva both doubts with thigh complaints. Chapecoense travel without Bruno Tubarão, Franco Rossi, Heitor, Max Alves, Rafael Carvalheira, Robert, Victor Caetano and Vinícius Balieiro, all injured, which leaves Lacerda managing a squad already bottom of the table with eight players unavailable and precious little cover to replace them. It is genuinely hard to see how Chapecoense hold a defensive shape for 90 minutes with those numbers missing.
Vitória typically line up in a 4-2-3-1 built around quick transitions, with Matheuzinho operating as the ten and Erick leading the line, while Emmanuel Martínez and Caíque Gonçalves sit as the double pivot, though both will now have to cover for several absent colleagues. The injury list will push Ventura toward a more compact shape, getting the ball forward quickly to the creative players rather than building through possession.
Chapecoense line up in the same 4-2-3-1 and have leaned heavily on set pieces under Lacerda. Giovanni Augusto has been their main creative outlet in recent weeks, feeding Túlio Eduardo and Maurício Garcez in attack, with Yago Felipe sitting deepest in midfield. Lacerda's side will look to hit in behind a makeshift Vitória backline and with Caíque Gonçalves carrying extra defensive responsibility for an injury hit unit around him, that is where this game may open up.
The sides drew 1-1 when they last met on 5 April 2026 and historically these fixtures have not produced many goals, though both depleted defences might change that calculation this time. Chapecoense's set piece delivery will trouble a Vitória defence that has not played together in weeks and any dead ball concession here would be difficult to recover from given how thin both benches are.
With seventeen confirmed absentees between the two squads, this will be decided by who manages their resources better over 90 minutes, not by tactical nuance. Vitória have the home advantage and the attacking quality of Matheuzinho and Erick and against a Chapecoense side running out of cover at the back, that combination should be enough to see them over the line even if possession is scrappy and the game never opens up. Chapecoense have shown they can score on the counter or from set pieces but a second half collapse is a real risk for a squad this thin. A narrow 2-1 home win feels right, moving Ventura's side further clear of the drop while leaving Chapecoense still needing to find something, anything, from their remaining fixtures to avoid going straight back down.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
