Separated by just one point in the Serie A standings, Campeonato Brasileiro rivals Santos and Flamengo meet at Vila Belmiro on Saturday.
While the hosts have failed to win any of their last four outings, they retain the upper hand on Fla, who put together successive victories to end a sticky patch during much of June.
Match preview
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Taking a break from their league campaign, in which they have drawn half of their 14 games so far, Santos returned to continental action on Wednesday, in the Copa Sudamericana.
After previously topping their group, the Sao Paulo side travelled to Venezuela for a first-leg tie against Deportivo Tachira, in the competition's last 16.
Head coach Fabian Bustos saw his team held again, as a 1-1 result secured by Bryan Angulo's late equaliser registered their sixth draw from eight matches in all competitions.
Amid the tightly-packed Brasileiro standings, the Alvinegro have nonetheless moved into seventh spot, though they did suffer a 4-0 thrashing by Corinthians in the first leg of their Copa do Brasil last-16 tie at the end of last month.
As eight-time national champions, expectations are always high at Santos, and despite a lack of wins, their current position sees them just two points adrift of a Copa Libertadores qualification spot for next term.
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Flamengo have been in action in this year's edition of South America's premier club tournament, and are well-placed to progress to the quarter-finals after a 1-0 victory at Deportivo Tolima in midweek.
On-loan Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira notched Fla's goal in the 17th minute, and they return from Colombia buoyed by back-to-back wins over the past week.
After they swept through to the Libertadores knockouts without losing a game, Flamengo's domestic fortunes had taken an alarming nosedive - with five defeats in six league and cup matches being followed by an overdue 3-0 success against America Mineiro last Saturday.
That three-point haul took the 2019 and 2020 Brasileiro champions back into the top half of the fluid Serie A standings, but they nonetheless remain just three points clear of the relegation zone.
Before they attempt to finish the job against Tolima next Wednesday, the Rubro-Negro journey on to Santos, where they were 4-0 winners when the clubs last met at Vila Belmiro, almost a year ago. Anything like the same result this weekend would ease the pressure on coach Dorival Junior, who has endured a slow start to his third spell at the club since returning last month.
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Team News
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Dorival Junior made several changes to his Flamengo team for their Copa Libertadores tie in midweek, including a rare start for veteran playmaker Diego, and the former Porto man could once again feature alongside Thiago Maia in midfield. However, Andreas Pereira - now set for a return to the Premier League - misses out.
Another duo with experience in Europe, Filipe Luis and David Luiz, are likely to start in defence, but Bruno Henrique remains sidelined by a knee injury and Willian Arao is yet to return from COVID-19 infection.
Young midfielder Joao Gomes is back from suspension, though, and top scorer Gabriel Barbosa will be fit to lead the line up front.
The hosts, meanwhile, should have almost their entire squad available on Saturday, after goalkeeper Joao Paulo and midfielder Vinicius Zanocelo returned to action against Deportivo Tachira.
Lucas Barbosa, John and Leo Baptistao are all back after serving Copa Sudamericana bans, and the latter should start up front alongside in-demand teenager Marcos Leonardo, but Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Fernandez is suspended due to an accumulation of bookings.
Santos possible starting lineup:
Paulo; Auro, Velazquez, Eduardo, Pires; Camacho, Zanocelo; Angulo, Oliveira, Baptistao; Leonardo
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Santos; Rodinei, Luiz, G. Henrique, Luis; Gomes, Maia; De Arrascaeta, Diego, Everton; Barbosa
We say: Santos 1-2 Flamengo
Recent results have lifted the dark clouds gathering above Flamengo, and they can maintain their momentum by posting a third straight win to overtake Santos in the table - a wide range of attacking options can help the visitors score more than once.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
