An out-of-sorts and shot-shy Santos crop endeavour to snap an abysmal 12-game winless streak when they play host to fellow bottom-half battlers Goias in Sunday afternoon's Brasileiro affair.
Paulo Turra's men were served a slice of humble pie in a 3-0 beating at the hands of Cuiaba last time out, while their visitors fell victim to Coritiba in a 2-1 home defeat.
Match preview
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The panic button has been pressed with force at Santos' Estadio Urbano Caldeira, as after a relatively passive first half in their mid-table showdown with Cuiaba last Sunday, the floodgates opened in the second half as Turra's side were subjected to another humiliating loss.
Deyverson, Denilson and Rikelme all found a way to breach the permeable Santos backline, and the club nicknamed 'Santastic' have been anything but fantastic over the past couple of months, culminating in a swift change in management last month as Turra took the reins from Odair Hellmann.
The former Atheltico Paranaense boss is the sixth man to assume head coach duties for Santos over the past 12 months, but a new manager bounce has not been forthcoming; Santastic were eliminated from the group stage of the Copa Sudamericana in his first game in charge before the Cuiaba capitulation.
The eight-time Brazilian champions find themselves languishing in 14th place in the standings as a result, having been leapfrogged by their recent conquerors, and Turra is facing a steep battle to pull his side out of the no man's land between relegation and the Copa Sudamericana group phase - a 12th-placed finish would suffice for the latter.
There are glaring issues at both ends of the field for Turra to solve, though, as Santos have now gone scoreless in four of their last five matches and have gone seven home games without a maximum in all competitions, but their upcoming opponents hardly typify excellence either.
In contrast, Goias managed to shut up shop in the second half of Tuesday's showdown with Coritiba, but the damage had been done before the players entered the dressing room for a breather, as Alef Manga and Benjamín Kuscevic propelled the visitors into a healthy two-goal advantage.
Dodo's tap-in on the 69-minute mark did reduce the arrears, and the contest was nothing short of chaotic for referee Denis Ribeiro Serafim, who brandished nine yellow cards for the ill-disciplined Coritiba and another five for Goias, but Armando Evangelista's side ultimately ran out of steam.
Being brought crashing back down to earth after topping their Copa Sudamericana group with an unbeaten record - Santos could do with taking a leaf out of their book - Goias' second successive Brasileiro loss leaves them entrenched in the relegation scrap in 17th place, one point adrift of safety.
Success in the Sudamericana has certainly come at a cost for Evangelista's men, who are level with four other teams on a league-low 11 goals, and they have only chalked up a paltry trio of efforts away from their headquarters all season long.
Speaking of threes, though, Goias enter Sunday's game aiming to stretch their winning streak over Santos to four matches - prevailing 2-1 on Santastic's turf 13 months ago - but the hosts have only failed to score in one of their 16 head-to-head contests on home territory.
Team News
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Santos attacker Yeferson Soteldo was a notable absentee from their thumping at the hands of Cuiaba, and it emerged that the 26-year-old was dropped after missing a training session - he has since been forced to practice away from his teammates.
Whether Soteldo is considered for a recall on Sunday remains to be seen, while Alison, Felipe Jonatan (both knee), Luan Dias (muscle) and Alex (thigh) are all poised to miss out due to injury.
However, Sandry - now fully recovered from a broken nose - was able to come off the bench last weekend and may be one of several alterations considered by Turra in the wake of that humbling defeat.
Thankfully for Goias manager Evangelista, none of the five Emerald Green players booked in the midweek loss to Coritiba have incurred a suspension here, but attacker Vinicius and midfielder Diego are sidelined with groin and back concerns respectively.
Changes could be in the offing either way, as Dodo has put his name in the hat for a start over Guilherme thanks to his consolation goal on Tuesday, while Alesson was withdrawn at the break and must fend off the threat of Julian Palacios to hold his place.
Santos possible starting lineup:
Paulo; Cadu, Joaquim, Messias, Inocencio; Sandry, Dodi; Dias, Lima, Braga; Leonardo
Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Maguinho, Halter, Melo, Sander; Olivera, Ricardo; Mateusinho, Dodo, Palacios; Peixoto
We say: Santos 1-0 Goias
Given Santos' repeated shortcomings in the final third and Goias' well-documented phobia of scoring on the road, a goal-laden contest may not be on any fan's bingo card this weekend.
Turra's side certainly need to start picking up results soon before the crisis sets in - if it has not already - but with a couple more days of rest, Santos and their fresh legs can finally pull themselves out of their rut and avoid another Emerald Green beating courtesy of a slender win, however ugly it may be.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
