Atletico Mineiro will take on their bitter rivals America Mineiro on Sunday, with the home side looking for consecutive victories as they bid to win the Campeonato Brasileiro title.
Meanwhile, the visitors enter the weekend in 10th position, and they will be aiming to continue their positive run of form after winning their last two games.
Match preview
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Atletico Mineiro are aiming to win the Campeonato Brasileiro for the second time in their history, and they head into the weekend with a ten-point lead at the top.
Although they have lost their last two away games, Atletico Mineiro have been able to rely on their seamless home form, and they continued their dominance by beating Gremio last weekend.
Matias Zaracho's opener was cancelled out by Jaminton Campaz, but the hosts managed to edge out Gremio, with Eduardo Vargas scoring in the 75th minute.
That victory extended Atletico Mineiro's winning run at home in the league to 11 games, and they will be confident of clinching a derby victory having only lost just once in the league on home turf.
Cuca's side boast the best defence in the league having only conceded 22 goals this term, and they will be aiming for their 13th clean sheet on Sunday.
America Mineiro have fared well in the top tier after winning promotion to the Campeonato Brasileiro last season, and they head into the weekend eight points clear of the relegation zone with only nine games left to play.
In fact, after losing just once in their last 12 fixtures, Sunday's visitors find themselves six points off a Copa Libertadores qualification spot.
After losing to Internacional on October 14, America Mineiro picked up a point at home to Bahia, before winning consecutive games against Santos and Fortaleza.
Last weekend's contest with Fortaleza seemed to be heading for a draw, when David equalised after Ademir had put America Mineiro ahead from the spot, but Felipe Azevedo snatched all three points with an 84th-minute winner.
Marquinhos Santos will be aware of how tough Sunday's encounter will be, but one defeat in their last nine away games will give them hope, although they did draw six of those fixtures.
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Team News
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The league leaders will be without Keno, who missed the last match due to injury, and the forward is not expected to return for Sunday's contest.
Meanwhile, Ignacio Fernandez is suspended for the game due to yellow card accumulation, and he is set to be replaced in the starting lineup by Vargas.
Cuca could also make a change in midfield, with Tche Tche making way for Jair.
Orlando Berrio is absent for America Mineiro with a knee injury keeping him out of the side.
Last weekend, Mauro Zarate made his first start since returning from injury, and he is expected to partner Rodolfo up front on Sunday.
Ademir will be looking to continue his impressive goalscoring form after scoring five goals in his last seven games.
Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Everson; Guga, Nathan, Alonso, Arana; Zaracho, Jair, Allan, Vargas; Costa, Hulk
America Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Cavichioli; Patric, Silva, Eduardo, Marlon; Ademir, Ale, Kal, Juninho; Rodolfo, Zarate
We say: Atletico Mineiro 2-1 America Mineiro
Although the visitors are in fine form, it is difficult to see past a home victory, especially given the fact that Atletico Mineiro have won three of the last four competitive home meetings.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atletico Mineiro win with a probability of 59.33%. A draw had a probability of 23.5% and a win for America Mineiro had a probability of 17.21%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Mineiro win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.83%) and 2-1 (9.56%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.04%), while for an America Mineiro win it was 0-1 (6.38%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 13.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Atletico Mineiro in this match.
