Vitoria tries to close gap against Criciuma

After two matches on Tuesday to open the 13th round, the Brazilian Serie B football league continues with two games this Friday and six on Saturday. The most anticipated game of this round is the one that pits leaders Criciuma against second place Vitoria, in Santa Catarina. The visitors try to close a five-point gap to the leaders, while staying among the top four on the table. Criciuma is happy to be back home after a 3-2 away loss to Ponte Preta in its last game. Vitoria just hopes it can perform as well on the road as it did the last time it played at home, when it beat Fortaleza 6-0.

On Friday, seventh place Brasiliense take on ninth place Ponte Preta, trying to temporarily move into second position with a win. The locals have 19 points, two less than second place Vitoria and third place Gama. The other game on Friday puts Sao Caetano against Avai, in a game featuring two mid-table teams.

On Saturday, in addition to Criciuma and Vitoria, fourth place Coritiba hosts Gremio Barueri. Both teams are tied at 20 points, but the locals have one more win and thus are awarded the better position in the standings. Santa Cruz tries to turn its season around to avoid relegation, as it hosts Remo in a battle of two desperate teams currently in the bottom four. Second last Ituano also has a matchup against another desperate team, Fortaleza, which is just out of the relegation zone, with 14 points - good for 16th place.

Marilia, which lost six points due to irregularly fielded players, continues playing well nevertheless, and can move into the top four with a win over Ceara at home. Finally, last place Paulista hopes to take advantage of playing at home to beat third place Gama.