Seeking a fifth consecutive victory in the Brasileiro Serie A, Corinthians play host to Cruzeiro on Wednesday, on matchday 34 for both teams from Corinthians Arena.
Before the international break, the Tatuape club came from behind to defeat Vitoria 2-1, while Cruzeiro beat Criciuma by that same score.
Match preview
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Despite a heartbreaking exit versus Racing Club in the semi-finals of the Copa Sudamericana in late October, Corinthians have maintained their consistent form in league play.
Heading into this upcoming encounter, Coringao have points in five consecutive Brasileiro affairs while claiming at least a point in 12 straight domestic games at Corinthians Arena.
Their strong league form has vaulted them up to 11th, just two points below Vasco da Gama for ninth and one back of Atletico Mineiro for a spot in the top half of the table.
Of the teams currently in the bottom half of the Brasileiro Serie A standings, only Juventude (40) have netted more times than Corinthians.
For them to surpass their points total from a year ago (30), Ramon Diaz needs his team to win three of their final five domestic affairs.
A victory on Wednesday would mark the first time Timao will have won five consecutive games in the Brazilian top flight since 2017, when they claimed a five and six-match winning run.
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At long last, Cruzeiro claimed maximum points in their previous match, their first league victory since early September (3-1 over Atletico Goianiense).
The club from Belo Horizonte have never lost a Serie A fixture this year when netting multiple times, dropping points only once in 2024 when doing so (2-2 draw versus Vitoria in August).
That narrow win over Criciuma was the first in the league this season for Fernando Diniz since becoming the new manager in September, with his team only picking up two points from their previous five league contests before that.
Celeste have not won consecutive games in this competition since July, when they followed up a 2-0 victory over Juventude by defeating the league leaders Botafogo 3-0.
They are winless in their last five Brasileiro away matches since that triumph against Fogo, failing to score in those last four encounters as the visitors.
Raposa are unbeaten in their previous two domestic meetings versus Corinthians, earning a 3-0 home win the last time they met in July.
Team News
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On matchday 33, Corinthians were missing Ruan Oliveira, who is dealing with an ACL issue, Diego Palacios sat out due to a sore knee and Ryan remained sidelined because of an ankle injury.
Hector Hernandez is out for the year after spraining his knee, Caca may be available Wednesday after missing time with a chest injury, while Andre Ramalho will be doubtful as he recovers from a thigh issue.
Yuri Alberto drew his side level against Vitoria the last time out, while Memphis Depay completed the comeback, netting the winner with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Rafa Silva will likely miss this midweek encounter for Cruzeiro with a thigh injury, while Gabriel Veron, Matheus Pereira and Kaio Jorge will be forced out because of yellow card accumulation.
From matchday 32 to 33, there was one change to their starting 11, with Lucas Silva replacing Walace in a holding midfield position.
Jorge put his team in front after just nine minutes versus Criciuma, with Porto loanee Veron scoring the winner 20 minutes from the end, while Cassio was strong between the sticks, making seven stops to preserve the victory.
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Souza; Fagner, Torres, G. Henrique, Bidu; A. Romero, Raniele, Magno; Garro; Alberto, Depay
Cruzeiro possible starting lineup:
Cassio; William, Marcelo, Villalba, Xavier; L. Romero, Silva; Ramiro, Barreal, M. Henrique; Diaz
We say: Corinthians 2-0 Cruzeiro
Corinthians possess some elite attacking players who are beginning to gel as a unit, and we believe their momentum will propel them to another triumph against an inconsistent Cruzeiro side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
