Sao Paulo can book a place in the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil for a fifth successive occasion by avoiding a defeat by two goals or more against Goias on Thursday at Estadio de Serrinha.
In the opening leg of this tie last week, Marcio Zanardi's men conceded two second-half strikes in a 2-0 defeat to the reigning champions.
Match preview
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The club from Goiania's quest to make the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals for the first time since 2013 suffered a massive setback last week.
Their defeat versus Sao Paulo means this club must do something they have failed to do since April 2019, win a second-leg contest at this tournament at home by at least two goals.
Goias are winless in their last three competitive fixtures and have not won a match at Estadio de Serrinha since the beginning of July (2-1 over America Mineiro).
Two of their previous three home contests at the Copa do Brasil ended in a victory for Goias, including a 1-0 triumph over Serie A side Cuiaba in the last round.
In the 2024 Serie B campaign, this team have only suffered one defeat on home soil (2-1 versus Chapecoense in July), as they currently sit 10th.
One encouraging note for them heading into this match is that they came away with a 2-0 victory over Sao Paulo the last time they hosted them in 2023 on matchday 27 of the Brasileiro Serie A season.
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Last week, Sao Paulo took another step towards successfully defending their Copa do Brasil crown with the defending champions, claiming a sixth successive triumph in this tournament.
That said, Soberano were in this exact position at this stage last year and were beaten 3-1 by Sport Recife, advancing on penalties 5-3.
Luis Zubeldia's men had 82% of the possession in the first leg of this tie and have not conceded in consecutive matches across all competitions, defeating Flamengo 1-0 on Saturday in Brasileiro Serie A action.
Not since 2019 have they been knocked out of this tournament in the last 16, when Bahia ousted them by a 2-0 aggregate score.
It has been nearly 10 years to the day since they were previously eliminated from a Copa do Brasil tie after winning the opening leg, losing 3-1 to Bragantino on August 13, 2014, after winning the first match against them 2-1.
Tricolor Paulista have won six of their previous seven meetings versus Goias across all competition, with their last away victory against them occurring on the final matchday of the 2022 Brasileiro Serie A campaign (4-0).
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Team News
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A straight red card given to Marcao after 35 minutes last week means that the 33-year-old will not be available to Goias for this decisive encounter.
Four new faces began the game against Sao Paulo who were not in the starting 11 versus Cuiaba in the third round of this tournament, with Diego Caito, Messias, Sander and Wellington replacing Diego, Edson Felipe, Cristiano and Juninho.
As for Sao Paulo, they were without Pablo Maia for the opening leg of this tie due to a sore thigh, Alisson was sidelined with a broken ankle and Giuliano Galoppo did not feature because of a foot injury.
Second-half strikes by Luciano and Jonathan Calleri enabled them to win comfortably against Goias, with Rafael collecting his first clean sheet of the tournament, replacing Jandrei between the sticks.
Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Borel, Ribeiro, Messias, Braz, Sander; Welliton, L. Henrique, Wellington, Baya; Galhardo
Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Rafael; Rafinha, Arboleda, Franco, Lanza; Nestor, Gustavo; Moura, Luciano, Ferreira; Calleri
We say: Goias 0-2 Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo advances 4-0 on aggregate)
The scoreline in the opening leg was rather flattering for Goias, and we do not believe the Serie B side have the quality to trouble a club as organised and disciplined as Sao Paulo.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
