Paulista rivals Sao Paulo and Palmeiras meet for the first leg of their Copa do Brasil quarter-final showdown at Morumbi on Wednesday.
The hosts booked their place in the last eight with a penalty-shootout triumph over Sport Recife, while the visitors dispatched Fortaleza to reach the quarter-finals.
Match preview
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Sao Paulo head into Wednesday's clash on the back of a 1-0 victory over Fluminense, with Luciano scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute to lift his side to seventh in the Brasileiro table – two points shy of the top four.
Thanks to that victory, Sao Paulo have won three of their last four matches across all competitions, with last week's 2-0 win over Argentine outfit Tigre completing an unbeaten Copa Sudamericana group-stage campaign for Soberano.
When you look at the bigger picture, Dorival Junior's men have won eight of their previous 12 outings, scoring at least two goals on seven occasions while keeping five clean sheets for good measure.
It is also worth noting that Sao Paulo have been especially strong on home soil in recent times, winning nine of their last 11 games at Morumbi, so they will be confident of notching a first-leg advantage on Wednesday.
That said, Soberano suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Sport Recife in the previous round of the Copa do Brasil before eventually triumphing on penalties, giving Palmeiras reason for optimism ahead of the first leg.
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Palmeiras, meanwhile, were held to a 2-2 draw by Athletico Paranaense last time out, with Endrick and Gabriel Menino giving Verdao a healthy lead before Gustavo Garcia's 66th-minute red card, which sparked a comeback from the hosts.
Abel Ferreira's side kicked off their Brasileiro campaign with a 10-game unbeaten streak, picking up six wins and four draws in the process, but they have failed to find a league victory since then, taking a solitary point from a possible nine.
Still, Palmeiras have made light work of their Copa do Brasil opponents up to now, securing a 5-3 aggregate win over Tombense before registering a 3-1 aggregate victory against Fortaleza in the previous round.
On top of that, Verdao won five of their six Copa Libertadores group games to cruise in the knockout phase, thrashing Bolivian side Club Bolivar 4-0 last week to finish 11 points inside the top two in Group C.
Having lost just three of their previous 23 matches across all competitions – collecting 14 wins and six draws along the way – Palmeiras will be determined to extend their hot streak and replicate their Copa do Brasil triumph of 2020.
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Team News
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Sao Paulo's injury list contains key players such as former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Alexandre Pato, who has not featured for the club since returning to Morumbi earlier this year.
With Joao Moreira, Igor Vinicius, Talles Costa, Giuliano Galoppo, Erison, Jandrei, Michel Aruajo and Lucas Beraldo also expected to miss the first leg, Dorival Junior has plenty of selection dilemmas to deal with.
Having chalked up eight goals and six assists in all competitions this season, Luciano will continue to lead the line for Sao Paulo, while Jonathan Calleri will aim to enhance his tally of seven goals and six assists.
As for Palmeiras, Eduard Atuesta remains sidelined due to a cruciate ligament rupture, while Marcos Rocha and Murilo are also on the treatment table.
Real Madrid-bound Endrick looks set to partner Breno Lopes in the visitors' attack, as the 16-year-old sensation netted his seventh goal of the campaign last time out.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Weverton will continue between the sticks, with Kaiky Naves, Murilo Cerqueira and Gustavo Gomez occupying the centre-back roles in a 3-5-2 formation.
Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Rafinha, Arboleda, Franco, Lanza; Maia; Neves, Nestor; Rodriguinho; Luciano, Calleri
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Weverton; Gomez, Cerqueira, Naves; Garcia, Montoya, Guilherme, Jhon, Vanderlan; Endrick, Lopes
We say: Sao Paulo 1-1 Palmeiras
We can see Tuesday's showdown being a close-fought battle between two fierce rivals, with both sides expected to settle for a draw ahead of a pivotal second leg later this month.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
