Cruzeiro and Goias will square off in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A this Sunday from Arena Independencia in Belo Horizonte for the first time in over three years.
In their first season back in the top flight, Cruzeiro find themselves in 10th following a 0-0 draw with Coritiba, while Esmeraldino wound up with that same result on Monday versus Atletico Mineiro.
Match preview
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Over a quarter of the way through the season, Raposa continue to find ways to earn results, going unbeaten in their previous four league fixtures.
In their first Serie A campaign since 2019, this group have got by thanks to their solid positional play when out of possession, and it does not hurt to have one of the most well-organised backlines in the league, allowing the second-fewest goals so far (11).
Coming into this weekend, Pepa's men have not conceded in four successive domestic encounters, and they have an opportunity on Sunday to extend their unbeaten run at home to three matches.
Celeste have not lost in their last seven home matches versus Goias, dropping points in only one of those outings, while losing just one of their previous 13 games played against them in either Serie A or B.
The Serie B champions from a season ago are winless in their previous five matches in which they had over 50% of the possession, scoring in only one of those encounters, while they are unbeaten in their last four fixtures when they had fewer than half of the possession, posting a clean sheet in three of those games.
This is a team that thrive on individual talent with some dangerous dead ball specialists, while their physicality at the back has made them among the best in the league at defending set pieces.
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From one of the top defensive units in the Brazilian top flight we go to one of the worst in Goias, who have conceded the third-most goals in the league this season (26), a big reason why they currently find themselves in the relegation zone.
Goias have earned just one point domestically since Armando Evangelista took charge, though they are coming off perhaps their best defensive performance of the campaign, holding Galo to just one effort on target last Monday for their first clean sheet at home in 2023.
So far this year, this team have only picked up a positive result in two Serie A contests away from home, conceding a pair of winning goals in stoppage-time which cost them points.
They should have a decisive edge in the air this weekend as they do a lot of their damage on set pieces, while they are rarely outdueled on crosses into their penalty area.
Verdao enter this contest with the second-fewest goals scored in this competition (14) as they seem to be better at reacting than controlling a game, claiming eight points domestically this year when conceding the opening goal, including a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Botafogo, one of only two defeats on the campaign for the league leaders.
So far this year, the Goiania-based club have lost every one of their away fixtures against teams currently in the top half of the table, scoring just once over that stretch when they were beaten 2-1 at Sao Paulo.
Team News
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Wesley Gasolina is not expected to be available for Cruzeiro until late July because of a sprained knee, Rafael Bilu and Ramiro should be back around that same time from an Achilles and meniscus injury, respectively, while Daniel Junior has been ruled out with an unknown problem.
Rafael Cabral has stopped the last 20 shots that he has faced in this competition, moving ahead of Fabio for second in Serie A regarding clean sheets last weekend, currently with seven, one fewer than Lucas Perri in first.
Two of their joint top-goalscorers Bruno Rodrigues and Wesley Ribeiro have not netted in five straight domestic affairs, while Gilberto, who is tied with them for the team leads in goals (three), has not been on the scoresheet since notching a brace in a 4-0 triumph over America Mineiro.
Esmeraldino will be without Diego and Gabriel Novaes until late July due to a back and thigh issue, respectively, Julian Palacios might be a few weeks away from returning after previously sustaining a muscle injury, while Bruno Melo will be suspended.
Guilherme Marques missed their previous encounter through suspension in what was perhaps the most straightforward clean sheet for Tadeu this season, as he only had to make one stop.
In their previous road contest, Marques notched a brace, with Joao Magno putting home his first of the campaign in a losing effort versus Santos (4-3).
Cruzeiro possible starting lineup:
Cabral; H. Palacios, Neris, Castan, Marlon; Jussa; Wallisson, Machado, Vital, Vitor; Rodrigues
Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Maguinho, Halter, Sidimar, Sander; A. Oliveira, Dodo, W. Oliveira, Morelli, Goncalves; Magno
We say: Cruzeiro 1-0 Goias
Whatever Cruzeiro lack in attacking quality, they make up for along the back end, and we expect their consistently solid defence should look relatively comfortable handling Goias, allowing them to be a little riskier going forward and eventually find a breakthrough.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
