Gremio welcome struggling America Mineiro to Porto Alegre on Thursday as the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A dishes up a full batch of midweek fixtures.
The hosts occupy sixth place in the table, while the visitors find themselves third from bottom, with nine points separating the two sides after 10 matches.
Match preview
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Despite racking up a whopping 25 shots at the Maracana, Gremio head into Thursday's clash on the back of a 3-0 defeat to Flamengo, with goals from Everton Soares, Pedro and Bruno Henrique lifting Flamengo above Gremio in the standings.
The Immortal Tricolor notched four successive wins before falling to Flamengo, clinching league victories over Internacional, Athletico Paranaense and Sao Paulo while securing a Copa do Brasil triumph over Cruzeiro.
Thanks to those wins, Renato Portaluppi's men have lost just one of their last seven matches across all competitions, with only two defeats coming in their previous encounters.
There is no hiding the fact that much of Gremio's success has come on home soil this year, as the Porto Alegre outfit have avoided defeat in each of their 14 home games in 2023, picking up 11 wins and four draws while keeping seven clean sheets.
Having taken 11 Brasileiro points from a possible 15 at Arena do Gremio this season – scoring at least two goals on three occasions – the Immortal Tricolor will be confident of heaping more misery on lowly America Mineiro.
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After gaining promotion back to Serie A in 2020, America Mineiro finished eighth in their comeback campaign before finishing 10th last term, but Vagner Mancini's men have started this season in disappointing fashion.
Indeed, Coelho find themselves third from bottom in the table after 10 matches, having recorded two wins, two draws and six losses so far, while no team has suffered more defeats than America in 2023.
To make matters worse for the Belo Horizonte outfit, they possess the worst defensive record in the Brazilian top flight, having conceded 22 goals in 10 outings, and they have also conceded at least two goals on eight occasions.
It is worth noting, however, that America Mineiro have improved in recent times, registering two wins and one draw in their previous four league outings after starting the season with a winless run of one draw and five defeats.
Thanks to recent victories in both the Copa do Brasil and Copa Sudamericana, Coelho enter Thursday's clash on a four-game unbeaten streak, meaning that Mancini's men will fancy their chances of frustrating Gremio.
Team News
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Gremio are still without long-term absentees Jhonata Robert and Pedro Geromel, who have not played a single minute this year as they continue to recover from knee injuries.
Ferreira, Diego Souza and Fabio are also sidelined due to injury, although right-back Joao Pedro is back in action having recovered from a muscle problem.
Former Liverpool and Barcelona forward Luis Suarez will aim to continue his strong start to life at Gremio, as the 36-year-old has chalked up 11 goals and eight assists in 25 games for his new club.
As for America Mineiro, they look set to be without the injured trio of Dada Belmonte, Matheusinho and Adyson for Thursday's trip to Porto Alegre.
Vagner Mancini may be tempted to stick with the same XI that started the 2-2 draw with Athletico Paranaense last time out, opting for a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Luo Guofu is expected to lead the line for the visitors, with Lucas Kal anchoring the midfield, while Mateus Pasinato will continue between the sticks.
Gremio possible starting lineup:
Grando; Pedro, Uvini, Alves, Kannemann, Cuiabano; Botello, Villasanti, Carballo, Cristaldo; Suarez
America Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Marincho, Wanderson, Maidana, Avelar; Kal; Everaldo, Juninho, Breno, Azevedo; Guofu
We say: Gremio 2-1 America Mineiro
Although America Mineiro have upped their game of late, we expect Gremio to extend their unbeaten home record with a narrow victory on Thursday, as America have taken a solitary point from four away league outings this year, conceding at least two goals on each occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
