Brazilian Serie A - Round 18 Preview
With two matches on Saturday and eight on Sunday, the Brazilian Serie A reaches its 18th round this weekend, with leaders Sao Paulo trying to recover from a loss at the Copa Libertadores final against Internacional to remain ahead of Santos. The team coached by Wanderley Luxemburgo is now only one point behind the leaders, which have one game in hand.
Here are my views ahead of the games:
PONTE PRETA x GOIAS: Ponte Preta fans are still asking themselves what went wrong on Wednesday, when the team lost at home to lowly Fortaleza by a 3-1 score. They may get an answer pretty quickly, if the team shows the same kind of effort against another troubled team, Goias. The visitors at least managed to secure a tie at home to Botafogo, but still have to play better not to risk relegation. All in all, this smells like a draw.
FLAMENGO x GREMIO: Gremio surprised a few people by defeating Santa Cruz away from Porto Alegre on Wednesday by a 4-2 score. They will certainly have a tougher task against Brazilian Cup holders Flamengo, coming off a 1-1 draw with Figueirense in Florianopolis. The team from Rio is struggling to score many goals lately, but at least has not allowed that many either. Another draw could be in the works.
FLUMINENSE x SANTA CRUZ: Two teams that lost at home on Wednesday will give it another try on Sunday. Better for Fluminense, again playing in Rio de Janeiro. Santa Cruz is again in last place, thanks to two straight losses after a five game unbeaten run. Fluminense will have several players back, and should be considered favourites for the match.
SANTOS x VASCO: Santos must win to have a chance of overtaking Sao Paulo for the lead in the standings. It certainly has a chance against an inconsistent Vasco side, winless in three games. Unbeaten in five matches, including four wins, the locals should get all points from this game.
CRUZEIRO x SAO PAULO: Can Sao Paulo recover from the obvious impact it suffered after the loss to Internacional in the Libertadores final? Moreover, can it adjust to the loss of key players Lugano and Ricardo Oliveira to Europe? Against a traditional opponent, away from home, the Libertadores runners-up should not stand much of a chance. However, Cruzeiro has been playing very poorly lately, with two draws and four losses in its last six games. Thus, it would not be a surprise to see them fail again here.
FORTALEZA x JUVENTUDE: Fortaleza managed an extremely important 3-1 away win at Ponte Preta on Wednesday, and will try to build on that to try to escape the bottom positions of the table. Juventude did not fare too poorly in its last match either, tying Palmeiras in Sao Paulo during a match in which it played with 10 men for the most part. However, this matchup seems to close to call. If anything, I'll give Fortaleza the slight edge.
FIGUEIRENSE x ATLETICO PARANAENSE: Figueirense could have done better against Flamengo this midweek, but a draw against the Brazilian Cup champions is not too shabby, even if the opponents are not playing that well right now. Against an Atletico Paranaense side that is in the bottom four (with one game in hand), Figueirense has the obligation of getting the full three points.
PARANA x SAO CAETANO: Parana did not play this midweek because it was supposed to face Internacional, which was busy winning its first ever Libertadores. Without playing, the team fell to fourth in the standings, and must now beat Sao Caetano if it wants to remain close to the top of the table. Sao Caetano lost its manager this week but still managed to beat Vasco. Can it pull the same trick against Parana? Not if the locals play the way they have been playing lately. Despite expecting a close match, I believe the local team can win this.
INTERNACIONAL x PALMEIRAS: What better way of celebrating the club's most important title ever than a home game just four days after the historic win? Well, maybe playing a friendly game instead of an official match. Obviously riding a low after all the concentration and effort put forward in the Libertadores final, Inter should have a hard time against a Palmeiras side that has been playing better than any other team in the tournament for the past month. Last year, Sao Paulo remained winless in the Brazilian Serie A for more than a month after winning the Libertadores title.
CORINTHIANS x BOTAFOGO: Under a new coach, Corinthians' fans quickly had their hopes restored when the team beat Fluminense in Rio on Wednesday. On Sunday the team has another Rio team to face, but this time the match is at home. The defending champions should come out of this with the three points, but Botafogo has shown recently it can always play to get at least a point. In its last five games, the team has drawn four.
Here are my views ahead of the games:
PONTE PRETA x GOIAS: Ponte Preta fans are still asking themselves what went wrong on Wednesday, when the team lost at home to lowly Fortaleza by a 3-1 score. They may get an answer pretty quickly, if the team shows the same kind of effort against another troubled team, Goias. The visitors at least managed to secure a tie at home to Botafogo, but still have to play better not to risk relegation. All in all, this smells like a draw.
FLAMENGO x GREMIO: Gremio surprised a few people by defeating Santa Cruz away from Porto Alegre on Wednesday by a 4-2 score. They will certainly have a tougher task against Brazilian Cup holders Flamengo, coming off a 1-1 draw with Figueirense in Florianopolis. The team from Rio is struggling to score many goals lately, but at least has not allowed that many either. Another draw could be in the works.
FLUMINENSE x SANTA CRUZ: Two teams that lost at home on Wednesday will give it another try on Sunday. Better for Fluminense, again playing in Rio de Janeiro. Santa Cruz is again in last place, thanks to two straight losses after a five game unbeaten run. Fluminense will have several players back, and should be considered favourites for the match.
SANTOS x VASCO: Santos must win to have a chance of overtaking Sao Paulo for the lead in the standings. It certainly has a chance against an inconsistent Vasco side, winless in three games. Unbeaten in five matches, including four wins, the locals should get all points from this game.
CRUZEIRO x SAO PAULO: Can Sao Paulo recover from the obvious impact it suffered after the loss to Internacional in the Libertadores final? Moreover, can it adjust to the loss of key players Lugano and Ricardo Oliveira to Europe? Against a traditional opponent, away from home, the Libertadores runners-up should not stand much of a chance. However, Cruzeiro has been playing very poorly lately, with two draws and four losses in its last six games. Thus, it would not be a surprise to see them fail again here.
FORTALEZA x JUVENTUDE: Fortaleza managed an extremely important 3-1 away win at Ponte Preta on Wednesday, and will try to build on that to try to escape the bottom positions of the table. Juventude did not fare too poorly in its last match either, tying Palmeiras in Sao Paulo during a match in which it played with 10 men for the most part. However, this matchup seems to close to call. If anything, I'll give Fortaleza the slight edge.
FIGUEIRENSE x ATLETICO PARANAENSE: Figueirense could have done better against Flamengo this midweek, but a draw against the Brazilian Cup champions is not too shabby, even if the opponents are not playing that well right now. Against an Atletico Paranaense side that is in the bottom four (with one game in hand), Figueirense has the obligation of getting the full three points.
PARANA x SAO CAETANO: Parana did not play this midweek because it was supposed to face Internacional, which was busy winning its first ever Libertadores. Without playing, the team fell to fourth in the standings, and must now beat Sao Caetano if it wants to remain close to the top of the table. Sao Caetano lost its manager this week but still managed to beat Vasco. Can it pull the same trick against Parana? Not if the locals play the way they have been playing lately. Despite expecting a close match, I believe the local team can win this.
INTERNACIONAL x PALMEIRAS: What better way of celebrating the club's most important title ever than a home game just four days after the historic win? Well, maybe playing a friendly game instead of an official match. Obviously riding a low after all the concentration and effort put forward in the Libertadores final, Inter should have a hard time against a Palmeiras side that has been playing better than any other team in the tournament for the past month. Last year, Sao Paulo remained winless in the Brazilian Serie A for more than a month after winning the Libertadores title.
CORINTHIANS x BOTAFOGO: Under a new coach, Corinthians' fans quickly had their hopes restored when the team beat Fluminense in Rio on Wednesday. On Sunday the team has another Rio team to face, but this time the match is at home. The defending champions should come out of this with the three points, but Botafogo has shown recently it can always play to get at least a point. In its last five games, the team has drawn four.
posted by fejas @ 1:45 PM
Subscribe to Brazilian Futebol
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home