Criciuma host Internacional at the Estadio Heriberto Hulse on Sunday for round 13 of the Brasileiro Serie A, with both teams looking to quickly recover from their latest setbacks.
Both teams are coming into this clash on the back of defeats that saw their respective winning runs end, and both will hoping to turnup against an opponent they have not met in seven years.
Match preview
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Criciuma's return to the Serie A after a ten-year absence has seen a mixed bag of results, leaving them 13th in the table with 12 points from 10 games.
The Tigres started well with an unbeaten run of three games, including draws against Juventude and Atletico Mineiro followed by a win over Vasco.
However, things went awry with three consecutive defeats to Palmeiras, Cuiaba, and Athletico Paranaense, but they bounced back with another three-game unbeaten run that included a draw with Bahia and victories over Atletico Goianiense and Botafogo.
Manager Claudio Tencati's men will be looking to recover quickly from their latest defeat, and their current two-game unbeaten run at home will give them some confidence.
Criciuma have not won against their next opponents in seven meetings, but the last time they met in the Serie A was a decade ago.
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Internacional seemed to have found their form again with back-to-back wins over Corinthians and Gremio, but a 2-1 home defeat to Atletico Mineiro brought them back down to earth.
The loss also ended their clean sheet run and pushed them down to ninth in the table with 17 points from 10 games, two points away from Copa Libertadores spots.
Eduardo Coudet's side has played slightly fewer games than most teams above them and are seven points behind leaders Flamengo - a win against Criciuma would help them keep pace with the frontrunners.
However, their away form has been inconsistent this season with alternating wins and losses in their five away matches, although they won their most recent trip to Gremio and will be hoping to secure consecutive away wins for the first time this campaign.
Team News
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Criciuma will remain without 31-year-old Wilker Angel, who is currently on duty with the Venezuela national team at the ongoing Copa America.
Former Crystal Palace winger Yannick Bolasie and Brazilian striker Felipe Vizeu are both ruled out with thigh injuries.
Internacional will be without a number of stars due to international assignments, including Rafael Santos Borre, Sergio Rochet and former West Ham United man Enner Valencia.
Mauricio and Ivan are sidelined with knee issues while Lucca will miss this clash due to a thigh injury.
Wesley and Lucas Alario are both suspended after picking up an unhealthy number of yellow cards, leaving Coudet with decisions to make in attack.
Criciuma possible starting lineup:
Gustavo; Jonathan, Fagundes, Maia, Hermes; Barreto, Newton, Ronald, Marquinhos; Calke, Eder
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Fabricio; Bustos, Vitao, Fernando, Rene; Romulo, Henrique, Patrick, Maia, Drummond; Wanderson
We say: Criciuma 1-2 Internacional
Both teams slipped up in their last league outings and are coming into this match looking to avoid making it successive slip-ups, but the hosts have struggled on home soil this while the visitors have been better on the road.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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