Reigning Brasileiro Serie A champions Atletico Mineiro will be looking to turn their fortunes around when they travel to the Castelao to face managerless Ceara on Wednesday.
The hosts are unbeaten in each of their last five matches across all tournaments, while the visitors have only won two of their last seven games on the road.
Match preview
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Ceara have put together an impressive run of form across all competitions, alternating between victory and a draw in their last 10 matches.
The 1-1 league draw away at Goias on Sunday was the first game without head coach Dorival Junior, who has now left the club to join Flamengo for a third spell in charge.
Stiven Mendoza put the visitors in front in the ninth minute but a major turning point in the 85th minute saw Bruno Pacheco shown a straight red card for raising his elbow at Maguinho inside the penalty area, with Pedro Raul converting the resulting spot kick to restore parity for Goias.
Nevertheless, Ceara remain 12th in the Brasileiro Serie A table, two points above the relegation zone and three points behind the top six.
Ceara now face a challenging contest against reigning champions Atletico Mineiro, although they can take confidence into Wednesday's fixture as they have claimed four points from their last two home meetings against them.
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Atletico Mineiro followed up their eventful 5-3 loss away at Fluminense with a 1-1 draw at home against Santos on Saturday.
Teenage starlet Savio – who is reportedly set to join Manchester City this summer before being sent out on loan to PSV Eindhoven – opened the scoring in the sixth minute with his first senior league goal.
Santos were then reduced to 10 men when left-back Lucas Pires pulled back Savio to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity on the hour mark. Despite that, the visitors managed to score an 84th-minute equaliser with Rwan Seco converting from the penalty spot to force both sides to share the spoils.
Antonio Mohamed's side have now slipped down to sixth in the Brasileiro Serie A standings, one point behind the top four and five points behind Palmeiras at the summit.
Mineiro have recently suffered a dip in form, winning only one of their last five matches and conceding nine goals in the process, but they will be hoping to bounce back with a victory against Ceara, who they beat 3-1 at home in their most recent encounter against them in October last year.
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Team News
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Ceara will be without the suspended Pacheco, with Victor Luis set to replace him at left-back, but they are able to welcome back Nino Paraiba and Rodrigo Lindoso after the pair served one-match bans last time out.
Luiz Otavio, Vinicius Lima, Dentinho and Leo Rafael are all sidelined with thigh injuries, while goalkeeper Richard is suffering with a knee problem.
Mendoza, who has scored seven goals in 10 league games this term, is set to be joined again in attack by Vina and Cleber.
As for Atletico Mineiro, forward Eduardo Vargas and midfielder Matias Zaracho are both ruled out with muscle injuries, while veteran defender Diego Godin will be assessed after picking up a knock while on international duty with Uruguay.
Mohamed is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, but centre-back Natan could return to the heart of the defence at the expense of Rever.
Veteran forward Hulk, who has scored three goals in his last five league appearances, is set to lead the line and could be supported in attack by Savio, Ignacio Fernandez and Keno.
Ceara possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Macedo, Messias, Lacerda, Luis; Richardson, Sobral, Richard; Vina, Cleber, Mendoza
Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Everson; Guga, Natan, Alonso, Rubens; Jair, Allan; Savio, Fernandez, Keno; Hulk
We say: Ceara 1-1 Atletico Mineiro
Ceara will head into this contest in high spirits due to their impressive unbeaten run of form, although the visitors are considered the slight favourites to claim maximum points.
Only one draw has been played out in the last eight meetings between these two teams, but with little to separate them on this occasion, the spoils could be shared at the Castelao.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
