Atletico Mineiro will be out to end their winless run when they welcome rivals Flamengo to the Estadio Mineirao in the Brasileiro on Sunday.
The hosts have dropped down the table following their poor run of form, whilst the visitors ended a winless run of their own by picking up all three points in midweek.
Match preview
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After drawing a blank in a goalless draw at Ceara on Wednesday evening, Mineiro head into Sunday's derby on the back of four games without a win.
In fact, after opening the 2022 campaign with back-to-back victories at the beginning of April, Galo have won just once from their last 10 in the top flight, leaving the giants down in a disappointing position of sixth heading into matchday 13.
Antonio Mohamed's side have lost just twice in their opening 12 league outings, but six draws have seen them slide down the table in recent weeks, in what is quickly becoming a poor defence of their 2021 title.
It has been on their travels that Mineiro have struggled most, with the midweek draw at struggling Ceara being just the seventh point that Mohamed's men have recorded away from home this season.
It is not just results that have been a concern either, with performance levels also considerably dropping off, but with a return to home soil against their rivals on Sunday, there will not be many better occasions to return to winning ways than against Flamengo at the Estadio Mineirao.
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Meanwhile, the visitors had also struggled of late prior to their 2-0 win over Cuiaba on Wednesday, with the victory ending a run of three consecutive defeats for Dorival Junior's side.
The 60-year-old had only overseen one of those losses however, after the manager was brought in earlier this month from Ceara.
Junior had overseen a positive start to the campaign with the minnows, but has now been tasked with a huge job to get this club back to where it belongs near the summit of the Brasileiro.
Heading into the derby on Sunday, Flamengo find themselves in 10th spot following a disappointing start to the campaign under Paulo Sousa, but Junior will instantly become a hit with the supporters once again, in what is his third spell in charge of Rubro-Negro, should he oversee a derby win this weekend.
However, Flamengo have won just once in their six Brasileiro fixtures on the road during the 2022 campaign so far, and have suffered defeats in each of their last three trips to the Estadio Mineirao, so the odds will be certainly against the visitors when this feisty affair kicks off.
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Team News
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Mineiro will remain without Matias Zaracho and Dodo on Sunday, with the duo ruled out due to muscle and meniscus injuries respectively.
Young Brazilian forward Savio was also unavailable in midweek due to COVID-19 isolation, and the 18-year-old is expected to be out of action for a couple of weeks as a result.
Igor Rabello's availability remains to be seen too, with the first-team defender missing Wednesday's draw for personal reasons.
As for the visitors, they will be without the services of Bruno Henrique for some time, after the forward was forced off during the midweek win with a knee ligament injury.
Veteran central defender David Luiz was also taken off early on against Cuiaba, and the former Arsenal and Chelsea man is unlikely to feature here due to the thigh problem suffered.
The duo are joined on the sidelines by Fabricio Bruno and Matheus Franca, who are expected to be unavailable for another few weeks yet due to a foot injury and broken leg respectively.
Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Everson; Guga, Silva, Alonso, Arana; Castilho, Otavio; Vargas, Fernandez, Keno; Hulk
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Alves; Matheuzinho, Pablo, Pereira, Lucas; Pereira, Gomes, Arrascaeta; Ribeiro, Barbosa, Vitinho
We say: Atletico Mineiro 2-1 Flamengo
Despite Flamengo bouncing back with victory in midweek, we can see Junior's side falling back to their losing ways at the hands of their rivals here.
The hosts have been in poor form of late, but much of their troubles have been on the road, whilst Flamengo will be hurting from the absences of Luiz and Henrique, and Mineiro will sense a chance of ending their winless streak against their rivals on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
