Sao Paulo will be looking to snap their nine-game winless run against Fortaleza when they journey to the Estadio Castelao in round 20 of the Brasileiro Serie A on Saturday.
The Leao do Pici head into the weekend on a blistering run of nine back-to-back home wins across all competitions and will be aiming to move within four points of league leaders Botafogo.
Match preview
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With the 2024 Brasileiro Serie A campaign at its midway point, Fortaleza will feel delighted with their performance so far as they find themselves comfortably seated in the top half of the table.
The Ceara outfit have won nine of their 19 matches so far while losing three and claiming six draws to collect 33 points and occupy fourth place in the league standings, just six points adrift of league leaders Botafogo.
Juan Pablo Vojvoda's men head into the weekend off the back of a 1-1 stalemate with Criciuma when the two sides squared off at the Estadio Heriberto Hulse on Wednesday evening.
Fortaleza were guilty of a lack of sting in front of goal as they squandered several clear-cut scoring opportunities before Juan Martin Lucero struck in the 63rd minute to cancel out Miguel Trauco's first-half opener and force a share of the spoils.
With that result, the Leao do Pici have now gone five consecutive games without defeat, picking up four wins and one draw since their 2-0 loss against Vasco da Gama at the Estadio Sao Januario on July 2.
Key to Fortaleza's success this season has been their dominance on home turf, where they are on a nine-game winning streak and are unbeaten in 17 consecutive matches since March's 1-0 loss to Vitoria in the Copa do Nordeste.
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Elsewhere, Sao Paulo turned in a resilient team display as they fought back from behind to salvage a thrilling 2-2 draw with Botafogo at the Estadio do Morumbi on Wednesday evening.
After falling behind to Lucas Moura's sixth-minute opener, Botafogo upped the ante as Tiquinho Soares and Cuiabano found the back of the net to turn the game on its head but Aldemir Ferreira struck right on the hour mark to hand the hosts a deserved point.
Sao Paulo have now gone unbeaten in all but one of their last eight matches — picking up five wins and two draws — with a 2-1 defeat against Atletico Mineiro on July 12 being the exception.
With 32 points from 19 matches, Luis Zubeldia's men are currently sixth in the Serie A standings, level on points with fifth-placed Cruzeiro and just one point adrift of this weekend's hosts.
While Sao Paulo will be looking to leapfrog Fortaleza in the table, they have failed to win any of the last nine encounters between the teams, losing five and claiming four draws since a 3-2 victory in November 2020.
Team News
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Fortaleza remain without 24-year-old midfielder Calebe, who is set to sit out his ninth consecutive game after picking up a muscle injury against Atletico Mineiro on June 23.
He is joined on the Leao do Pici injury table by Argentine midfielder Emmanuel Martinez, who has also been sidelined since June through a sprained knee.
With his equaliser against Criciuma, Lucero now has nine goal involvements in 12 league starts — the most of any Fortaleza player this season — and the 32-year-old should spearhead the attack once again.
As for Sao Paulo, Zubeldia will be unable to call upon the services of Pablo Maia, who has been out of action since suffering a thigh injury in May.
Experienced forward Alisson has missed each of the last two games since sustaining an ankle problem against Gremio on July 18 and the 31-year-old is also out of contention for the visitors.
Fortaleza possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Tinga, Britez, Titi, Jonatan; Hercules, Sasha; Pikachu, Pochettino, Lopes; Lucero
Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Vinicius, Arboleda, Franco, Welington; Bobadilla, Gustav; Moura, Luciano, Ferreira; Silva
We say: Fortaleza 2-1 Sao Paulo
While Sao Paulo will be looking to return to winning ways, they are in for a tough 90 minutes against a spirited Fortaleza side who have been simply outstanding at home in recent weeks. Zubeldia's men have managed just one away win since the start of June and we see them struggling at the Estadio Castelao.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
