Two sides separated by only two points in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A standings will try to end the month unbeaten as Atletico Goianiense host Internacional from Atletico Clube Goianiense Stadium on Sunday.
Dragao are currently in seventh thanks to an injury-time equaliser last weekend versus Chapecoense, while Colorado are sitting in 10th following their 2-2 draw with Santos.
Match preview
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After a tough month of July where they won only two of their seven league matches, Eduardo Barroca has seen his side put forth a much better effort this month.
Although they were eliminated from the Copa do Brasil, this team have shown a strong commitment to the fundamentals of the game, and while it has only resulted in one victory this month, they continue to earn points which has put them in a much safer spot to remain in the top flight beyond this season.
They have continually had to claw their way back into matches of late, conceding the opening goal in three of their four league games in August, with their other fixture ending in a 0-0 draw.
The difference from their previous month is that they are showing more poise and patience to stick to their game plan than they had in earlier fixtures in this campaign when they showed a lot of desperation after going a goal down and left themselves vulnerable to conceding more.
Slowly but surely, they have found a way to get back into the games in which they have fallen behind this month, defeating Bahia 2-1 and drawing Chape and America Mineiro 1-1.
While their results have been against beatable opponents, the fact that they were able to avoid going pointless against those sides chasing them in the table could make a big difference in the long run for this team to avoid relegation.
Since returning to the top flight of Brazilian football in 2018, Internacional have usually been in the top half of the table, often contending for the title.
Seeing them in 10th after 17 games is somewhat surprising given that they came in second a year ago and were just a point away from capturing their first league championship since 1979.
Diego Aguirre has seen his side finally start to play to their capabilities after a difficult July where they won only one of their eight fixtures in all competitions and were eliminated from the Copa Libertadores.
With 10 goals in their three games played in August, they have already more than doubled their total from the previous month when they failed to find the back of the net five times, with only three goals after 90 minutes.
Colorado have been a tough team to face on the road, losing only once in league play this season while also collecting two clean sheets.
A couple more wins could put them back in the mix for a spot in the Copa Libertadores next year, while they could be as high as sixth in the standings with a victory on Sunday and a bit of help.
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Team News
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Joao Paulo was the hero for Atletico in their match last Saturday as he scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 93rd minute, his third of the domestic campaign, putting him just one back of Ze Roberto for the team lead.
Dudu will be suspended for this match after being red-carded in the 90th minute last Saturday, while Natanael will be eager to send a message this weekend as he is currently with Goianiense on loan from Internacional.
One change was made to their starting 11 last Saturday from their team who started against Bahia with Arnaldo moving into a defensive role, while Arthur Henrique started in midfield with Dudu on the bench.
Internacional goalkeeper Daniel has been spectacular for his side this season, having faced 20 shots in his last four games but maintaining two clean sheets to bring his total to five on the season.
Yuri Alberto notched the equaliser last Sunday versus Santos with two minutes remaining, his second in his previous two matches, putting him two back of Edenilson, who notched a brace in their 4-2 win over Fluminense.
They made one change to their starting lineup against Santos from their victory over Flu as Gabriel Mercado started at the back in place of Renzo Saravia.
Atletico Goianiense possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Arnaldo, Werley, Eder, Natanael; Janderson, Baralhas, Maranhao, Montenegro; Ze Roberto, Paulo
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Moises, Cuesta, Mendez, Heitor; Palacios, Johnny, Dourado, Edenilson; Alberto, Guerrero
We say: Atletico Goianiense 1-2 Internacional
Atletico tend to allow many shots on target, which does not bode well against a side like Internacional who are starting to find their form, particularly in the final third, scoring 10 goals from 16 shots on target in their last three games.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Internacional win with a probability of 41.2%. A win for Atletico Goianiense had a probability of 30.59% and a draw had a probability of 28.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Internacional win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.25%) and 0-2 (7.94%). The likeliest Atletico Goianiense win was 1-0 (10.49%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.15%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 10.1% likelihood.
