The opening weekend of July will feature a champion vs champion showdown in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, as the reigning Copa Libertadores winners Palmeiras host the victors of last season's Copa Sudamericana, Athletico Paranaense, on Saturday at Allianz Parque.
Palestra have not lost a domestic encounter since a 3-2 defeat at home to Ceara in their opening league fixture and are currently leading the table with 29 points, five more than Furacao, who are third.
Match preview
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Palmeiras are a team who pride themselves on limiting their mistakes while keeping things tight defensively, and they have achieved both of those goals throughout much of the campaign, conceding the joint-fewest tallies in the league (10) after 14 games.
Foreign managers have rarely been able to live up to the high standards that Brazilian football demands when coming to the Brasileiro Serie A.
However, Abel Ferreira has earned his place in the hearts of the Palestra faithful, as his side are currently positioned to capture their first domestic crown since 2018.
Being the perfectionist that he is, Ferreira will be looking for stronger starts from his team than they have shown of late, as all of their goals scored in their previous four matches in all competitions came in the final 45 minutes.
Verdao are by no means the most aggressive defensive unit out there, though they may be as good at zonal marking as any team in the Brasileiro Serie A this season.
Since the Portuguese boss arrived, he has implemented a highly successful position-oriented side, who are generally well-organised and do a marvellous job at cutting down their opponents' passing angles.
Because of how well they invade those passing lanes, Palmeiras do most of their damage on the counter and are not afraid to be more aggressive in the middle, with their wingers providing extra protection.
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Once a minnow in Brazilian footballing circles, Athletico Paranaense are proving that they belong with the traditional powerhouse teams in this league, who are usually situated in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte or Porto Alegre.
El Paranaense are the only team from Curitiba that have previously won the Brasileiro Serie A, back in 2001, and they are making a solid push to capture the title again, unbeaten in eight consecutive league fixtures.
To help them in their quest to collect more silverware this year, the club have recruited a pair of proven leaders who have clutched some of the most famous footballing trophies, beginning with the appointment of two-time Serie A winner and former World Cup champion Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Recently, they also signed Fernandinho from Manchester City, where the former Sky Blues captain won five Premier League titles, plus an FA Cup and six EFL Cups, among other trophies.
All of that experience and success should be a massive benefit to a team, who are still in the hunt for the domestic title, as well as the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Libertadores, which means that they cannot defend their Sudamericana crown in 2022.
Scolari inherited a team with solid continuity, who look more poised and ambitious in the early going of their games, scoring three goals in three straight contests within the opening 20 minutes.
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Team News
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Palestra have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores after a brace from Rony and a rare tally from Murilo gave them a 3-0 win in their opening round of 16 game versus Cerro Porteno, with Weverton collecting his fourth clean sheet of that competition.
Gustavo Scarpa, who is currently tied with Flamengo's Giorgian De Arrascaeta for the league lead in assists with five, notched his third of the domestic campaign last Sunday in a 2-2 draw against Avai, while Wesley picked up his first Serie A assist of the year in that game.
A bout of COVID-19 means that Jorge will be on the sidelines for Palestra this weekend, as the Brazilian left-back was one of the players who did not feature in their previous fixture on Wednesday.
Joaquin Piquerez took his place for that encounter, while Murilo, Marcos Rocha, Danilo, Raphael Veiga, Dudu and Rafael Navarro all started against the Paraguayans.
Goals from Vitor Roque and Nicolas Hernandez gave Paranaense a 2-1 win in the first leg of their Libertadores encounter on Tuesday.
Four players got their names on the scoresheet for the first time domestically this year, as Erick, Luis Orejuela, Romulo and Hugo Moura all scored in a 4-2 triumph over Bragantino.
Bento is third in the league regarding clean sheets, picking up five so far this season, while leading scorer David Terans has not tallied in four consecutive matches in all competitions.
Abner could be out again after testing positive for COVID, Vitinho has an issue with his thigh, Marlos might not be fully recovered from a calf strain and Thiago Heleno is dealing with a shoulder injury.
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Weverton; Piquerez, Luan, Gomez, Mayke; Ze Rafael, Danilo; Wesley, Scarpa, Veiga; Navarro
Athletico Paranaense possible starting lineup:
Bento; Khellven, Henrique, Felipe, Orejuela; Fernandinho, Erick; Romulo, Terans, Pedrinho; Pablo
We say: Palmeiras 2-0 Athletico Paranaense
The way Palmeiras have been playing, this might very well be a must-win game for Paranaense if they want a chance to catch the league leaders before the end of the campaign.
Both sides are as sharp as they come on the defensive side, but Palestra are rarely exposed at the back and are masters at finding those pockets of space in behind opposing wing-backs, which we believe they will take advantage of this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
