Brazilian outfits Bragantino and Corinthians face off at Estadio Santa Cruz on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 meeting.
Both teams will be looking to steal a march on each other ahead of next week's return leg in Sao Paulo with a quarter-final place on the line.
Match preview
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Bragantino kicked off their Copa Sudamericana campaign with a win over Coquimbo Unido on April 4, before a 3-0 defeat to Racing Club in the subsequent outing sent them crashing back down to earth.
However, Pedro Caixinha's men rallied in the final four matches, picking up 10 points from a possible 12 to finish second in their group, but they still needed a playoff to book their place in the knockout phase.
O Massa Bruta saw off the threat of Ecuadorian outfit Barcelona SC over two legs to make it through to the last 16 courtesy of a 3-2 victory on home turf, which secured a 4-3 aggregate triumph off the back of a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
They now continue their quest for a first-ever continental title after coming closest to breaking the duck in the 2021 Copa Sudamericana, only to suffer a heartbreaking final defeat.
Having crashed out to Brazilian opponents in their last two appearances at this competition—America MG in 2023 and Athletico Paranaense in 2021—Bragantino will be keen to avoid losing out to familiar foes once again.
Wednesday's hosts recently had a taste of what to expect from their visitors following a 1-1 stalemate in Sunday's league encounter, the first of three clashes between the sides in August.
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Corinthians had to make do with a point from their opening Copa Sudamericana clash against Racing de Montevideo as the teams played out a 1-1 draw at Estadio Centenario on April 3.
A comprehensive 4-0 win over Nacional in their second involvement set the tone for the rest of the group stages for Ramon Diaz's men, who went on to finish top of Group F, automatically securing a place in the round of 16.
Since their solitary title in the 2012 Copa Libertadores, O Todo Poderoso have not fared well in CONMEBOL tournaments, with last year's semi-final run in the Copa Sudamericana their best showing in that time.
Currently sitting 17th in the Brasileiro table, Corinthians have endured a disappointing campaign to date, although they head into Wednesday's clash unbeaten in seven of their last eight matches across all competitions.
The visitors will now set out to continue their fine form on the continental scene this term and take a giant step towards reaching the last eight of South America's secondary club competition.
Team News
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Brazilian duo Juninho Capixaba and Nathan Camargo are both out of contention for Bragantino, with neither of them closing in on a return to full fitness.
Forward Helinho has found the back of the net in two of his last three appearances for the home side and is on course to retain his starting berth.
Thiago Borbas was a shock exclusion from the lineup last time out having scored two goals in the game prior, and a return to the XI is on the cards here.
Yuri Alberto, who has scored five Copa Sudamericana goals this season, is a major doubt for Corinthians after missing the last three games through an injury he picked up against Gremio earlier this month.
While Alberto's availability is hanging in the balance, Diego Palacios and Ruan Oliveira are guaranteed absentees, but the former is not far off making a comeback.
Bragantino possible starting lineup:
Cleiton; N Mendes, Cunha, D Mendes, Candido; Silva, Evangelista, Lincoln; Helinho, Borbas, Mosquera
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Souza; Hugo, Torres, Ramalho, Fagner; Raniele, Santana, Garro; Wesley, Giovane, Coronado
We say: Bragantino 1-0 Corinthians
Bragantino are on a tough run of results heading into this one, which should give Corinthians reason for optimism.
However, the away side have struggled for goals of late, and we can see them falling to a narrow defeat come the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Adepoju Marvellous
