Seven matches complete 19th round in the Brazilian Serie A

After losing 2-0 at home to leaders Sao Paulo, Botafogo travels to Santa Catarina trying to close the gap at the top of the standings in the Brazilian Serie A soccr league. Sao Paulo, which defeated Atletico Paranaense 2-0 at home on Saturday, opened an eight-point lead over Botafogo, which has two games in hand. In other matches on Saturday, Flamengo finally won, defeating Nautico 2-1 at the Maracana Stadium to reach 15 points. Sport beat Juventude 3-0 in Recife, temporarily climbing to eighth place, before this Sunday's games.

Here's a preview of this Sunday's games.

FIGUEIRENSE x BOTAFOGO
From a comfortable lead to an uncomfortable second place position, eight points behind the leaders. In just a few weeks, Botafogo saw Sao Paulo zoom past to take command of the league. The team from Rio has two games in hand, however, and could close the gap to two points by the end of the week - the 7th round game against Corinthians will be made up on Wednesday. For Sunday the opponent is not easy, though, as Figueirense has shown time and again that it can play any team at its Orlando Scarpelli Stadium in Florianopolis. The visitors will also have to deal with the loss of several suspended players: Juninho, Luciano Almeida, Lucio Flavio and Tulio. Ze Roberto remains out on a disciplinary action by the club, and midfielder Leandro Guerreiro is still questionable. At least defender Alex returns from suspension. For the locals, left-back Andre Santos and defender Chicao are back from suspension, but Claiton Xavier is out injured.

INTERNACIONAL x GOIAS
Inter managed a good away draw at Palmeiras on Thursday, but the team must take action soon to define whether it still wants to battle for a Copa Libertadores position next year or just be happy with finishing at the middle of the standings. Goias has certainly shown it prefers the former option, jumping back into the race for fourth place with a 3-2 win over Atletico Mineiro on Wednesday. The team is now tied with Cruzeiro for fourth place, with 29 points. Inter has 24 points, good for the eleventh position. Inter has replaced coach Gallo with Abel, who had left the team just four months ago to pursue other opportunities, which didn't come to fruition. The team hopes the coach that lead it to the Libertadores title last year can ignite a fire that seems to have been lost in the last couple of weeks. Right-back and captain Paulo Baier and his immeadiate substitute Vitor are out suspended for Goias. Wellington Monteiro is the new face for Inter in Abel's first game back, starting the game on the right-wing of a 3-5-2 formation.

CORINTHIANS x GREMIO
After ending a ten-game winless streak, it was business as usual for Corinthians on the road to Vasco on Thursday, where it lost 2-0. After a busy week away from the pitch, with the team's president and vice-president being removed from their positions, the second most popular team in the country doesn't have an easier time this Sunday, facing tough Gremio in Sao Paulo. Corinthians can again take advantage of its home field advantage, but the visitors will battle to guarantee at least a point here. The locals will be without defender Fabio Ferreira, suspended. Gremio will likely repeat the team that defeated America 3-0 on Thursday.

ATLETICO MINEIRO x PALMEIRAS
Atletico could not manage to come back against Goias at the Serra Dourada, and dropped its second game under new coach Leao. The team will be happy to return home, where its fans can certainly provide a boost to face any opponent. Palmeiras, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind to play on the road, after some dismal performances at home. It doesn't hurt that the team was also able to win its last road game, a 1-0 triumph over Fluminense. Palmeiras will be without suspended forward Luiz Henrique, while Edmundo may sit out the game to rest. Midfielder Pierre returns from suspension. Defenders Leandro Almeira and Vinicius return from serving a one-game suspension for Atletico, and criticized goalkeeper Edson continues in goal. Midfielder Marcinho was taken out of the team for missing Friday's training session, and forward Lucio is out suspended.

AMERICA NATAL x CRUZEIRO
How low can America get? With five straight losses, the team is deep into last place, five points behind Flamengo, the next team in the standings. Cruzeiro doesn't mind taking the trip to Natal, hoping to remain inside the top four that qualify for a Libertadores position in 2008. America will likely have the same team that lost to Gremio, but defender Edson Borges, who was recovering from an injury, may return. Forward Wesley may make his debut, but only in the second half. Midfielders Ramires and Leandro Domingues are suspended for Cruzeiro.

FLUMINENSE x SANTOS
Fluminense returns to the Maracana one week after losing there to Palmeiras 1-0. After a 0-0 away draw to Juventude, the team now hasn't scored in three games. Fortunately for the home team, the visitors are not know for worrying that much about their defense. Unfortunately, this team is Santos, who can really punish a team with its attack every now and then. Coming off three straight wins, Santos has been gaining some ground in the standings, and already sits in seventh place, with 27 points. Left-back Kleber is suspended for Santos, and coach Wanderley Luxemburgo will probably adopt a formation with three defenders to try to prevent Fluminense from creating too many chances. The locals will be without seven regular starters. Arouca, Roger, Carlinhos and Thiago Silva are suspended, and Alex Dias, Fernando Henrique and Fabinho are injured. Several youngsters should either start or be on the bench for Fluminense.

PARANA x VASCO
Third place Vasco goes to Curitiba to face 12th place Parana, who is dangerously slipping down the table and near the relegation zone. The team from Rio hopes it can repeat the performance it showed in its last road game, when it beat Internacional 2-0 in Porto Alegre. For Parana, winless in five overall, the performance will have to be better than last week's scoreless draw against Botafogo, or a 3-1 home loss to Atletico Mineiro before that. Rubens Junior returns from suspension for Vasco. Parana has three suspended players for this game, defender Daniel Marques, midfielder Adriano and forward Josiel.