Two sides in early relegation danger in their respective domestic competitions will be seeking a place in the last 16 of the Copa do Brasil as Atletico Goianiense welcome Brusque to Estadio Antonio Accioly on Wednesday.
In the opening leg of this third-round tie, a goal with fewer than 15 minutes remaining enabled the Serie A side to defeat Brusque 1-0.
Match preview
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It was anything but pretty, but in the end, Jair Ventura's side found a way to win the first match of this tie, earning their first clean sheet since late March (2-0 win over Vila Nova).
That has them positioned to qualify for the round of 16 at the Copa do Brasil for the fourth time in the last five campaigns, needing to avoid defeat on Wednesday to ensure they get over that line.
Their first season back in the Brazilian top flight has been anything but memorable so far, with Goianiense claiming just a single point after five matchdays and sitting second from the bottom.
Meanwhile, they have not been eliminated in the third round of this competition since losing 3-0 versus Santos in the second leg of their 2019 third-round tie after winning the opening encounter by a 1-0 score.
While they have rarely been knocked out at this stage of the Copa do Brasil in recent times, Atletico have failed to find the back of the net in their last two second-leg third-round fixtures at this tournament.
Dragao have only suffered one defeat in all competitions this year when scoring the opening goal, losing 2-1 to Aparecidense in January.
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For over 75 minutes, Brusque held firm in the opening leg of this tie but eventually broke down, as they failed to score for the first time at this tournament in 2024.
Brusque are winless in their last six matches in all competitions, failing to score in consecutive Serie B contests, including a 4-0 defeat at Santos on Sunday.
As a result, Marreco are in early danger of dropping into Serie C, claiming just four points after six domestic encounters, narrowly above the relegation line on goal difference.
Luzinho Lopes saw his side overcome a one-goal deficit in the second round of this tournament, though, equalising in the 88th minute versus ABC Futbol Clube before advancing on penalties (5-4).
They have not made it beyond the third round at the Copa do Brasil since taking out Brasil Pelotas 2-0 on aggregate in 2020.
That was the only time in their previous seven appearances in this competition that this team had won a second-leg encounter.
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Team News
Gustavo Campanharo is projected to return to the Atletico lineup in late June at the earliest as he continues to recover from knee surgery.
A 76th-minute strike from Luiz Fernando has them in front heading into this fixture, while Ronaldo made five stops to collect a clean sheet.
There were two new faces that did not begin the second-round fixture at this tournament for Brusque who were in the starting 11 in the first leg of this tie, as Rodolfo Potiguar and Dentinho came into the team in place of Jhemerson and Diego Tavares.
Iran has missed the last two matches in this competition after being red-carded in their opening-round victory over GAS (1-0), while Alex Ruan levelled their second-round encounter before Brusque won on penalties.
Atletico Goianiense possible starting lineup:
Ronaldo; Tubarao, Martins, Vinicius, Romao; Kal, Baralhas; Shaylon, Daniel, Fernando; Derek
Brusque possible starting lineup:
Nogueira; Cristovam, Ianson, Potiguar, Wallace, Ruan; Jhemerson, Dionisio, Serrato, Paulinho; Olavio
We say: Atletico Goianiense 1-0 Brusque (Atletico Goianiense advances 2-0 on aggregate)
Both sides are struggling domestically, but Goianiense know what it takes to advance beyond this stage, and we believe that experience will serve them well on Wednesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
