Fortaleza have a chance to defeat Flamengo at Arena Castelao for the first time in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A since 2005 when the two sides meet on Wednesday.
After being in the relegation zone for a good portion of the domestic campaign, the team from Ceara are now three points above that line, while the Copa Libertadores finalists currently sit in fourth and are trailing the league leaders Palmeiras by 12 points.
Match preview
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It has been a long road for Juan Pablo Vojvoda and his team, who have dug themselves out of an early hole domestically after sitting near the bottom of the table for a long time this season.
While they are in a much better position to remain in the top flight, they have not been able to increase that advantage in recent fixtures.
Leao do Pici have claimed just a single point in their three domestic matches this month, squandering a 1-0 lead at Juventude in their previous outing.
It is a precarious position for them heading into this midweek encounter, as a win could potentially move them into a tie for a spot at the Copa Sudamericana next season, while a defeat might put them back near the relegation zone.
Even though they lost their last league encounter at Arena Castelao, 3-1 to Botafogo, Fortaleza's form at home has played a big part in their domestic resurgence.
Prior to that defeat against Fogo, Fortaleza had earned points in their seven previous home fixtures, while posting six clean sheets.
One thing you can say about this group is that they do not appear to be intimidated when facing the stronger units in the top flight, earning victories against Flamengo, Corinthians and Internacional, while also holding the highest scoring team in the league (Palmeiras) off the scoresheet in a 0-0 draw back in July.
They may not be scoring with the same efficiency as we saw in their previous domestic campaign, but we have seen them show a lot more commitment to preventing goals than we saw last year, allowing 29 so far this season, 16 fewer than what they ended up conceding in 2021.
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There could be some trophies coming soon to Rio de Janeiro, but the hopes of Flamengo capturing a treble appear to be fading away.
Dorival Junior's men are winless in their last three league fixtures and are now clinging to a place in the Libertadores next season, currently just a point above Corinthians for a guaranteed place in the group stage of that tournament.
Mengao have conceded the opening goal in every one of their domestic encounters this month and have not scored a first-half tally in league play since drawing Palestra 1-1 in August.
Having booked their place in the final of the Copa Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, it seems as though this team have been more preoccupied with those competitions than Serie A, as the joint third-highest scoring team in the league have scored a goal or fewer in their last five domestic affairs.
Flamengo have looked much more comfortable on the road, unbeaten in their previous nine away matches in all competitions, with five clean sheets over that span.
Should Urubu fail to triumph on Wednesday, it would extend their winless streak to four successive domestic encounters, making it the longest run without a victory for them since failing to win that many games consecutively in the 2017 campaign.
Team News
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Fortaleza only managed one effort on target in their previous match, as their only tally came via an own goal from Paulo Miranda of Juventude, Thiago Galhardo fired home their last goal in a 2-1 defeat to Fluminense, while their leader in goals and assists Moises has not been on the scoresheet since his strike at the start of September in a defeat versus Fogo.
Marcelo Boeck started in goal against Juventude despite the impressive form of Fernando Miguel, who has seven clean sheets domestically this year, though their veteran keeper from Vera Cruz was in between the sticks when his side defeated Flamengo earlier this season thanks to goals from Robson and Hercules.
Valentin Depietri could soon be ready to return from his thigh injury, while Caio Alexandre got his first start since joining the team on loan from the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS, playing nearly the entire match before being replaced by Tinga in the 90th minute, over a week ago.
Gabriel Barbosa, who leads Flamengo with eight goals, had the only strike for them in their previous defeat to Flu, while Everton Ribeiro had their lone tally when they lost to Leao do Pici earlier this season.
Junior will not have Everton or Marinho available as they were both red-carded in the latter stages of their previous encounter, while Giorgian De Arrascaeta is unlikely to be ready as the league leader in assists (eight) is currently with the Uruguay national team, who face Canada in a friendly on Tuesday.
Rodrigo Caio is expected to miss another week because of a knee injury, Santos has a clean sheet in two of his last three road matches in all competitions, and Pedro is goalless in five straight domestic encounters.
Fortaleza possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Capixaba, Titi, Benevenuto, Britez; Vargas, Ze Welison, Lima; Moises, Robson, Romarinho
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Santos; Rodinei, Luiz, Pereira, Luis; Maia; Ribeiro, Gomes; Vidal; Barbosa, Pedro
We say: Fortaleza 1-2 Flamengo
Expect Fortaleza to play in a tight defensive setup in an attempt to frustrate Flamengo, who have plenty of attacking options to call on.
We believe the visitors' overall depth and ability to remain composed away from home will be enough to propel them to another road victory on Wednesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
