A pair of Porto Alegre-based sides will face off on Saturday in the Brasileiro Serie A when Gremio host Internacional at Couto Pereira Stadium.
A 4-0 defeat versus Fortaleza has the former two-time top-flight champions second from the bottom, while Clube do Povo are ninth following a 1-0 victory over Corinthians.
Match preview
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Gremio have repeatedly made one too many mistakes this season, putting them in early relegation danger and losing five successive league fixtures.
Renato Gaucho's men have lost five domestic encounters this season by a single goal, including each of their previous three matches.
Their only two victories domestically this season took place on their home field, though they have lost their previous two domestic encounters at Couto Pereira Stadium, the longest home losing run for them in Serie A since 2019 (two).
With just six points after eight domestic encounters, Gremio have collected eight fewer than they had at this stage a season ago.
The silver lining is that they are only two points below the relegation line, with two games in hand on the four teams directly ahead of them in the table.
They are unbeaten in their previous 15 top-flight encounters versus Internacional, winning this exact fixture last year 3-1.
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Beginning on Saturday, Internacional will play three of their following four league fixtures away from home, seeking consecutive victories in this competition for the first time since April.
Earlier this week, Eduardo Coudet's men ended a two-match winless run in Serie A, posting their third clean sheet in the top flight this season.
That victory vaulted them into a Copa Sudamericana place next season, with just three points currently separating them from Cruzeiro in sixth and a spot in the qualification round at the Copa Libertadores.
Internacional won four of their final five Serie A away fixtures last season but have yet to collect a point as the visitors in 2024.
Nine of their 14 points domestically this season have come when they have drawn first blood, and this team have not lost a top-flight encounter when doing so since August 2023 (3-1 versus Botafogo).
Colorado have triumphed in their previous two competitive matches versus Gremio but have not beaten them away from home since 2006 (1-0).
Team News
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Jhonata Robert is dealing with a sore knee, Mila has an ACL issue, Andre has an ankle problem and Diego Costa continues to deal with a muscle injury, with none of them expected to return to the Gremio fold until late June.
Imortal Tricolor will be without a trio of players for this encounter, as Pepe, Everton Galdino and Gustavo Nunes are all suspended.
Yeferson Soteldo and Mathias Villasanti are on international duty at the Copa America with Venezuela and Paraguay, respectively.
A knee injury sustained by Ivan and Mauricio will likely keep both midfielders on the sidelines for Internacional this weekend.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Sergio Rochet is representing Uruguay at the Copa America, Enner Valencia was called up to the Ecuador squad and Rafael Borre will be with the Colombian team.
It was a 42nd-minute strike courtesy of Wesley, which gave them a victory earlier this week, with Fabricio making three stops for the clean sheet.
Gremio possible starting lineup:
Marchesin; Pedro, Ely, Martins, Reinaldo; Nathan, Dodi, Cristaldo; Pavon, Galvao, Fernandes
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Fabricio; Bustos, I. Gomes, Fernando, Renan; Henrique, B. Gomes; Wesley, Hyoran, Wanderson; Alario
We say: Gremio 1-0 Internacional
There is still plenty of time for Gremio to turn things around, and we expect them to be a lot sharper defensively against a side that are struggling to get results away from home this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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