Three games on Saturday in the Brazilian Serie A

The 19th round of the Brazilian Serie A soccer league starts on Saturday with three games. Leaders Sao Paulo can finish up the first stage of the tournament with the symbolic title of 'winter champions'. Flamengo returns to Maracana Stadium after a long absence, hoping the mytical stadium will lend some of its aura to the team, which continues to struggle in the relegation zone. And Sport Recife tries to show it has enough quality to remain in the Serie A, in a home match against Juventude.

Here's a preview of the three games scheduled for Saturday:

SAO PAULO x ATLETICO PARANAENSE
Ever since they met in the 2005 Copa Libertadores final, the matchup between these two has never been the same, with a rivalry been created due to that historical matchup. Sao Paulo continued at the top of the Brazilian game, winning last year's league and once again leading this year. Atletico has seen better days, but hopes it can still surprise the leaders at the Morumbi Stadium. The locals have won six in a row, and are the favorites once again. Atletico recovered from a 3-2 away loss to Sport with a good 2-0 win at home over Flamengo on Wednesday. For the locals, Souza returns from suspension, while full-back Reasco is out after breaking his leg on the match against Botafogo. Forward Dagoberto plays for the first time against Atletico, his former team. Atletico will have the same team that beat Flamengo, including defender Danilo, who was questionable.

SPORT x JUVENTUDE
After two comeback wins, Sport couldn't repeat its good second half performance and ended up losing 2-0 to Cruzeiro in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday. The team still has a good chance to get full points in this game at home, helping consolidate its recovery in the league. At the beginning of the season the struggling red and blacks were in the relegation zone, but timely wins have lifted them to the middle of the pack. Juventude has not had as much luck, and continues to be tormented by the prospect of relegation. Their poor performances away from home are mostly to blame, and once again the players will have a tough time getting points on the road here. Defender Gustavo and midfielder Romerito were sent off against Cruzeiro and won't play for Sport. Forward Carlinhos Bala returns to the team after serving a one game suspension. For Juventude, Fabio Baiano is out injured, but Julio Cesar returns from suspension.

FLAMENGO x NAUTICO
The most popular team in the country still has a very decent chance of staying in the Serie A. Of the team's final 24 games, 16 will be played at the Maracana, which had been unavailable for the last couple of months due to the Pan American Games in Rio. Now back to the stadium, Flamengo hopes to get things going again to escape the troubling 19th place in the standings. The team still has four games in hand in comparison to most teams, and could use this difference in its advantage if it manages to start getting some wins here and there. Nautico is a much improved team in the past few rounds, having won three and tied one of its last four games, and won three and tied two on the road. This could mean more trouble for Flamengo, in a game certain to be interesting. Coach Joel Santana, who has lost the two games since taking over from Nei Franco, will promote the debut of defender Fabio Luciano and youngster Romulo, from the U-20 squad. Forwards Souza and Paulo Sergio are suspended, while Obina is not fit yet to play. Right-back Sidney is out with an injury. The team will likely move from its usual 3-5-2 formation to a 3-6-1, trying to prevent Flamengo from creating too many opportunities.