Cuiaba will welcome Flamengo to the Arena Pantanal on Wednesday for an important game at both ends of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table.
The hosts sit eight points adrift of safety with just five games remaining, while their visitors find themselves fourth and four points behind third spot.
Match preview
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Cuiaba head back to the Arena Pantanal on Wednesday aiming to boost their slim hopes of survival in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A this term, having endured a dismal campaign thus far.
Following a 12th-placed finish last time around, the Dourado currently sit 19th having only earned 29 points from their 33 outings in Brazil's top flight, with just six of those games ending in victory.
Their most recent win came at home to Sao Paulo in early October, and Bernardo Franco's side have put just three more points on the board in five attempts since, while failing to find the net in any of those contests, firstly drawing with Atletico Goianiense and suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Vasco da Gama and Corinthians.
They have since made trips to fellow strugglers Bragantino and league leaders Botafogo and taken shares of the spoils on each occasion as both matches ended goalless, now sitting eight points adrift of safety as a result with 15 left to fight for.
While they have only conceded three goals in their last eight outings, Cuiaba head into Wednesday's game knowing that any lingering survival hopes are resting on them correcting their attacking slump and picking up a much-needed home victory.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip on Wednesday aiming to strengthen their position in the top four and narrow the gap to the frontrunners in the final run of the top-flight campaign.
Having only finished outside of the Campeonato Brasileiro's top four once in the last six seasons, winning the title twice in that time, Flamengo currently occupy fourth spot again with five games remaining, although their lead over the chasing pack has been cut in recent weeks.
That is despite Filipe Luis's side bouncing back from a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Fluminense last month with victories over Juventude and Cruzeiro either side of a draw with fifth-placed Internacional, while also prevailing in the Copa do Brasil final having beaten Atletico Mineiro 3-1 at home and 1-0 away in November to win the trophy for the fifth time.
Then turning their focus back to the league campaign in a bid to ramp up their pursuit of third-placed Fortaleza and second-placed Palmeiras, the Rubro-Negro most recently hosted Copa do Brasil final opponents Atletico Mineiro again last week and lost ground as they failed to make it three wins in a month against their visitors, instead taking a point from a goalless stalemate.
Now trailing Fortaleza and Palmeiras by four and five points respectively and only leading Internacional on goal difference, Flamengo will be keen to strengthen their standing with a return to winning ways at the weekend.
Team News
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Bernardo Franco should field a similar Cuiaba starting XI from their creditable draw away at leaders Botafogo last time out, with Alan Empereur remaining sidelined by an injury.
Midfielder Fernando Sobral, who served a suspension, and winger Gustavo Sauer, who was ineligible to play against parent club Botafogo, will return to contention, though, and could retake their positions.
Bruno Alves and Marllon will continue at the heart of a back four having kept clean sheets in four of the last six league outings, while Isidro Pitta will again lead the line having netted 21 goals in 58 appearances across all competitions this season, with seven of those coming in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.
Flamengo have a longer list of absentees to contend with heading into Wednesday's trip, as Nicolas de la Cruz, Everton, Matias Vina, Luiz Araujo, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and key attacker Pedro remain confined to the treatment room, while Leo Ortiz, Gerson, Gonzalo Plata, Erick Pulgar and Guillermo Varela are away on international duty.
Those losses leave the Rubro-Negro particularly light in attack, and Michael should continue to lead the line with support from Bruno Henrique and 19-year-old Matheus Goncalves, while Carlos Alcaraz should again join Evertton Araujo in the middle of their 3-4-3 setup in the absence of the likes of De La Cruz, De Arrascaeta and Pulgar.
In the absence of Varela, Vina and Ortiz, David Luiz, Fabricio Bruno and Alex Sandro will continue in a back three with 99 Brazil caps between them, having kept a clean sheet against Atletico Mineiro last week.
Cuiaba possible starting lineup:
Walter; Alexandre, Marllon, Alves, Ramon; Augusto; Lacerda, Sobral, Clayson, Sauer; Pitta
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Rossi; Luiz, Bruno, Sandro; Franca, Araujo, Alcaraz, Ayrton; Goncalves, Michael, Henrique
We say: Cuiaba 0-1 Flamengo
Given the hosts' record at both ends of the pitch this season and the visitors' long list of absentees, we can only envisage a low-scoring contest on Wednesday.
Even without the majority of their key attackers, Flamengo should have the quality to find a decisive goal at the Arena Pantanal and get past a struggling Cuiaba side who have not scored since early October.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
