Two teams separated by just three points in the Brasileiro meet at the Estadio da Serrinha in the early hours of Thursday morning, when Goias host Botafogo.
Maintaining positions in the Copa Sudamericana places will be the order of the day for both sides, as it is shaping up to be a tight battle for the top 12 in the Brasileiro, as we enter the latter part of the season.
Match preview
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Following a run of three wins and three draws from their last six matches, Goias will be looking up the table rather than over their shoulder at relegation like they may have been a few weeks ago.
Only league leaders Palmeiras have beaten Jair Ventura's side in the last two months as the recently promoted outfit look in good shape to claim one of the six Copa Sudamericana places on offer.
Striker Pedro Raul has been a key factor in their rise up the table, as the 25-year-old's goal against Bragantino earned them a point last time out, after scoring both in a 2-1 win away to Santos, and the solitary goal in an eye-catching win at Atletico Mineiro in recent matches.
This leaves Pedro Raul joint-top of the goalscoring charts, and after scoring twice against his former club in the reverse fixture back in June, confidence should be high he can be the difference-maker again.
The heavy reliance on him is not ideal though, as he has scored exactly half of their league goals this season, and if Pedro Raul is not scoring, two clean sheets in the last 10 games show they struggle to win when he does not find the net.
Like Goias, Botafogo have seen an upturn in their fortunes of late, taking seven points from a possible nine, conceding just once, a consolation in a 3-1 win at Fortaleza.
This has been much welcome after a run of five matches without a win, which included dropping points to the bottom two sides in the division, Juventude and Atletico Goianiense.
The recent acquisition of Carlos Eduardo from Al-Ahli has been instrumental in their recent strong form, as the 32-year-old scored twice in the win over Fortaleza, and set up the clinching goal in their last match against Coritiba.
Botafogo's away form has been notably impressive this season too, as only three sides have picked up more points-per-game on the road than Luis Castro's side.
However, a lack of goals has been their weakness, with nobody yet into double-figures for goals after 27 games, and an average of exactly one goal-per-game.
With four relegation places in the league, safety is still far from guaranteed for both of these sides, as Botafogo sit just six points above the drop zone despite currently occupying a continental qualification spot.
Team News
Goias' starting XI has become very settled thanks to the results they have been picking up, leading Ventura to not meddle with the lineup too much.
One change which could be made though is the return of Dada Belmonte, who missed the draw with Bragantino after going off at half time against Flamengo a week earlier, to replace Renato Junior.
None of Goias' entirely Brazilian squad have been away on international duty and there are no new injury concerns to consider.
Recent Botafogo recruits Danilo Barbosa and Gabriel Pires were both half-time substitutes against Coritiba in their last fixture and inspired them to a 2-0 win, so they could replace Tche Tche and Lucas Fernandes in the centre of midfield.
After losing top scorer Erison to Estoril, Botafogo moved in quickly to sign Tiquinho Soares from Olympiacos, and the ex-Porto striker notched his first goal in the Brazilian top flight in the win over Coritiba.
Former Manchester United full-back Rafael da Silva will miss out with injury, so Renzo Saravia should continue to deputise on the right following clean sheets in his two starts since coming into the side.
Goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez is on international duty with Paraguay, so there could be just a second league appearance of the season for backup Douglas Borges here.
Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Maguinho, Caetano, Reynaldo, Savio; Auremir, Sales, Belmonte, Diego, Marquinhos Gabriel; Pedro Raul
Botafogo possible starting lineup:
Borges; Saravia, Adryelson, Cuesta, Marcal; Gabriel, Danilo, Jr Santos, C Eduardo, Sa; Soares
We say: Goias 1-1 Botafogo
These two sides are very rarely involved in high-scoring encounters, with Goias' last eight matches and 14 of Botafogo's last 16 matches all seeing three goals or fewer.
They have both become tough to beat in recent weeks though and there is a strong possibility they could cancel each other out in what promises to be a closely-fought affair, with every point valuable at this stage of the season for sides chasing continental qualification.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
