Brazil Serie A - Round 22 preview
After losing a golden opportunity to open 6 points with one game in hand at the top of the table, Sao Paulo has another chance of getting three points when it travels to Recife to face Santa Cruz, currently at the bottom of the standings. In other interesting matches this weekend, Brazilian Cup holders Flamengo host Libertadores winners Internacional, while second place Santos hosts surging Palmeiras in a Sao Paulo State derby at the Vila Belmiro. And Gremio returns to its Olimpico Stadium after a three-game home ban for trouble caused by its fans in a game against Internacional.
Here is a brief description of the matches in the 22nd round of the Brazilian Serie A Soccer League. Only two games on Saturday, with the remaining on Sunday:
CRUZEIRO x FIGUEIRENSE: Despite losing 2-1 to Gremio, Cruzeiro seems to have ended the troubled period it went through in August, when the team remained eight games without a win. After all, the last couple of matches showed some improvement in the team's play, and fans believe it's just a matter of time before the club can string a few wins together again. Figueirense also has been playing better, and was unlucky not to come out with a win over Palmeiras in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. Cruzeiro should still win this one, but not without a fight from the visitors. When they last met, Cruzeiro had a 2-0 away win in Florianopolis, back in April.
FLAMENGO x INTERNACIONAL: The battle of champions have two teams in different situations at the Brazilian League. Flamengo lost to Juventude 1-0 and would only be saved from relegation if the tournament ended today due to goal differential. Meanwhile, Inter won for the first time since its Libertadores triumph, beating Santa Cruz 2-0 away from home. This game will likely not be as easy for the continental champions, and Flamengo's desperation may prove enough to guarantee a win for the locals here. Inter won 1-0 at home in their first matchup of the season.
SANTOS x PALMEIRAS: Santos went to Curitiba and lost to Atletico Paranaense on Wednesday, seeing Gremio reach its same 35 points for a tie at second in the standings. Back home at the Vila Belmiro, the team now faces a good Palmeiras side that has yet to lose since the World Cup break. Palmeiras remained unbeaten after tying Figueirense 1-1 at home, in a game it did not play well and could have easily lost. Santos would have a slight edge here, but since it's a derby any result can be considered normal. In April, Santos defeated Palmeiras 2-1 in Sao Paulo.
GREMIO x PARANA: Gremio will play in front of its fans again, as the three-game ban to its stadium ends. Not that the team minded, going 3-0-0 in the three games it had to play at the Centenario in Caxias, with closed gates. The homecoming features a match against Parana, surprisingly on a 3-game losing streak after almost grabbing the league lead last week. The visitors are coming from a 4-0 embarrassment at the hands of Botafogo, while Gremio recovered from a poor first half to defeat Cruzeiro 2-1. Gremio should win this one to keep the race for the title interesting against Santos and Sao Paulo. Parana had a great 5-2 home win over Gremio in April, when they first met this season.
SAO CAETANO x FORTALEZA: Sao Caetano's future remains questionable after it lost its second coach in as many weeks following the 1-0 defeat to Corinthians. PC Gusmao left the team after not winning a game in four tries. The team is now only one point above the relegation zone, and must win this match to keep the atmosphere in the club sustainable. The visitors are coming a big 1-1 away draw at Sao Paulo, in which goalkeeper Alberico saved the game with a great performance. Fortaleza can take advantage of the current mess at Sao Caetano to pull another surprise. Fortaleza won the previous matchup, at home, by a 2-1 score.
ATLETICO PARANAENSE x BOTAFOGO: Who would have guessed a couple of weeks ago that this match would feature teams on winning streaks? Atletico defeated second place Santos 2-1 on Wednesday to get its third straight win. Botafogo also reached the mark after crushing Parana at home by a 4-0 score. The team from Rio will have a tougher time this weekend though, as Atletico seems to have regained the power of playing in front of its fans at the Kyocera Arena. The locals are favorites, but a draw should not be considered a surprise either. Botafogo lost to Atletico 4-0 at home in April.
GOIAS x JUVENTUDE: Goias finally ended its dismal 11-game winless streak on Wednesday, coming from behind to beat Fluminense at home by a 3-1 score. The team hopes to get another win here, when it faces Juventude at the Serra Dourada. This might prove difficult though, as the team from Caxias do Sul is building momentum after winning two straight games, over Parana and Flamengo. A draw would not surprise me here. The teams tied 1-1 in their previous encounter.
SANTA CRUZ x SAO PAULO: Sao Paulo dominated the match against Fortaleza on Thursday but still had to settle to a 1-1 draw. And it risked losing it, after the visitors opened the score with four minutes to go and had a penalty kick not being awarded. Sao Paulo still tied the game and missed a penalty of its own, but fans still feel the team should have come away with three points. On Sunday Sao Paulo travels to Recife to play desperate Santa Cruz, coming off a 2-0 loss at home to Internacional to remain in last place. Sao Paulo can still win the game, but it will be tough if the team keeps wasting goal scoring opportunities and if players don't start concentrating more on the matches against teams at the bottom of the table. In April, Sao Paulo had not trouble beating Santa Cruz 4-0 at home.
CORINTHIANS x PONTE PRETA: Corinthians was able to secure an important 1-0 away win at Sao Caetano on Wednesday, despite playing without its Argentine stars Tevez and Mascherano, dealt to West Ham United. The team now has the opportunity to continue its climb out of the bottom zone in the standings in a match at home against Ponte Preta. Ponte has not been playing very well or consistently lately, but managed an important 2-2 draw away at Vasco on Thursday. The visitors will be happy with another point here. Ponte Preta won its first game against Corinthias in the Brazilian League this season, by a 3-2 score.
FLUMINENSE x VASCO: Fluminense had a good start against Goias and was leading after the first half. Everything collapsed in the second though, as the team fell 3-1 away from home and remains winless in five games, including three straight losses. Meanwhile, Vasco was unlucky to go behind in the first half to Ponte Preta, but managed to tie the game twice and could have even won the game if not for a series of questionable calls by the referee. Despite the draw, the team remains strong in its quest for a Libertadores spot next year. Vasco is the favorite, but it being a local derby, anything is possible. In April, they tied 1-1.
Here is a brief description of the matches in the 22nd round of the Brazilian Serie A Soccer League. Only two games on Saturday, with the remaining on Sunday:
CRUZEIRO x FIGUEIRENSE: Despite losing 2-1 to Gremio, Cruzeiro seems to have ended the troubled period it went through in August, when the team remained eight games without a win. After all, the last couple of matches showed some improvement in the team's play, and fans believe it's just a matter of time before the club can string a few wins together again. Figueirense also has been playing better, and was unlucky not to come out with a win over Palmeiras in Sao Paulo on Wednesday. Cruzeiro should still win this one, but not without a fight from the visitors. When they last met, Cruzeiro had a 2-0 away win in Florianopolis, back in April.
FLAMENGO x INTERNACIONAL: The battle of champions have two teams in different situations at the Brazilian League. Flamengo lost to Juventude 1-0 and would only be saved from relegation if the tournament ended today due to goal differential. Meanwhile, Inter won for the first time since its Libertadores triumph, beating Santa Cruz 2-0 away from home. This game will likely not be as easy for the continental champions, and Flamengo's desperation may prove enough to guarantee a win for the locals here. Inter won 1-0 at home in their first matchup of the season.
SANTOS x PALMEIRAS: Santos went to Curitiba and lost to Atletico Paranaense on Wednesday, seeing Gremio reach its same 35 points for a tie at second in the standings. Back home at the Vila Belmiro, the team now faces a good Palmeiras side that has yet to lose since the World Cup break. Palmeiras remained unbeaten after tying Figueirense 1-1 at home, in a game it did not play well and could have easily lost. Santos would have a slight edge here, but since it's a derby any result can be considered normal. In April, Santos defeated Palmeiras 2-1 in Sao Paulo.
GREMIO x PARANA: Gremio will play in front of its fans again, as the three-game ban to its stadium ends. Not that the team minded, going 3-0-0 in the three games it had to play at the Centenario in Caxias, with closed gates. The homecoming features a match against Parana, surprisingly on a 3-game losing streak after almost grabbing the league lead last week. The visitors are coming from a 4-0 embarrassment at the hands of Botafogo, while Gremio recovered from a poor first half to defeat Cruzeiro 2-1. Gremio should win this one to keep the race for the title interesting against Santos and Sao Paulo. Parana had a great 5-2 home win over Gremio in April, when they first met this season.
SAO CAETANO x FORTALEZA: Sao Caetano's future remains questionable after it lost its second coach in as many weeks following the 1-0 defeat to Corinthians. PC Gusmao left the team after not winning a game in four tries. The team is now only one point above the relegation zone, and must win this match to keep the atmosphere in the club sustainable. The visitors are coming a big 1-1 away draw at Sao Paulo, in which goalkeeper Alberico saved the game with a great performance. Fortaleza can take advantage of the current mess at Sao Caetano to pull another surprise. Fortaleza won the previous matchup, at home, by a 2-1 score.
ATLETICO PARANAENSE x BOTAFOGO: Who would have guessed a couple of weeks ago that this match would feature teams on winning streaks? Atletico defeated second place Santos 2-1 on Wednesday to get its third straight win. Botafogo also reached the mark after crushing Parana at home by a 4-0 score. The team from Rio will have a tougher time this weekend though, as Atletico seems to have regained the power of playing in front of its fans at the Kyocera Arena. The locals are favorites, but a draw should not be considered a surprise either. Botafogo lost to Atletico 4-0 at home in April.
GOIAS x JUVENTUDE: Goias finally ended its dismal 11-game winless streak on Wednesday, coming from behind to beat Fluminense at home by a 3-1 score. The team hopes to get another win here, when it faces Juventude at the Serra Dourada. This might prove difficult though, as the team from Caxias do Sul is building momentum after winning two straight games, over Parana and Flamengo. A draw would not surprise me here. The teams tied 1-1 in their previous encounter.
SANTA CRUZ x SAO PAULO: Sao Paulo dominated the match against Fortaleza on Thursday but still had to settle to a 1-1 draw. And it risked losing it, after the visitors opened the score with four minutes to go and had a penalty kick not being awarded. Sao Paulo still tied the game and missed a penalty of its own, but fans still feel the team should have come away with three points. On Sunday Sao Paulo travels to Recife to play desperate Santa Cruz, coming off a 2-0 loss at home to Internacional to remain in last place. Sao Paulo can still win the game, but it will be tough if the team keeps wasting goal scoring opportunities and if players don't start concentrating more on the matches against teams at the bottom of the table. In April, Sao Paulo had not trouble beating Santa Cruz 4-0 at home.
CORINTHIANS x PONTE PRETA: Corinthians was able to secure an important 1-0 away win at Sao Caetano on Wednesday, despite playing without its Argentine stars Tevez and Mascherano, dealt to West Ham United. The team now has the opportunity to continue its climb out of the bottom zone in the standings in a match at home against Ponte Preta. Ponte has not been playing very well or consistently lately, but managed an important 2-2 draw away at Vasco on Thursday. The visitors will be happy with another point here. Ponte Preta won its first game against Corinthias in the Brazilian League this season, by a 3-2 score.
FLUMINENSE x VASCO: Fluminense had a good start against Goias and was leading after the first half. Everything collapsed in the second though, as the team fell 3-1 away from home and remains winless in five games, including three straight losses. Meanwhile, Vasco was unlucky to go behind in the first half to Ponte Preta, but managed to tie the game twice and could have even won the game if not for a series of questionable calls by the referee. Despite the draw, the team remains strong in its quest for a Libertadores spot next year. Vasco is the favorite, but it being a local derby, anything is possible. In April, they tied 1-1.
posted by fejas @ 3:24 PM
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