Athletico Paranaense and Bragantino return to action in the Copa do Brasil when they square off at the Arena da Baixada in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Fresh off the back of a narrow defeat against Fluminense, the Massa Bruta will head into this one looking to snap their run of seven consecutive away games without a win and secure a vital first-leg advantage.
Match preview
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Athletico Paranarense continue to strengthen their position in the top half of the Brasileiro Serie A table as they picked up a 2-1 victory over Cuiaba when the sides squared off on Sunday night.
The visitors were a class apart at the Arena Pantanal as Julimar and Lucas Di Yorio found the back of the net in either half to put them in a deserved lead before 33-year-old Deyverson pulled one back for Cuiaba in the 96th minute.
This followed a 2-1 victory over Cerro Porteno on July 26, a result which would see Paranaense book their spot in the Copa Sudamericana round of 16, having played out a 1-1 draw with a goalless draw with the Paraguayan side in the first leg.
With Sunday's result, Martin Varini's men have now picked up eight wins from their 18 Serie A games while losing six and claiming four draws to collect 28 points and sit eighth in the table, level on points with ninth-placed Atletico Mineiro.
Paranaense now turn their attention to the Copa do Brasil, where they were forced to work their socks off by Ypiranga in the opening round as they fell to a 2-1 first-leg defeat against the Serie C before claiming a 3-0 home win in the return leg on July 13 to turn the tie on its head.
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Meanwhile, Bragantino made light work of Sousa to start their quest for a first Copa do Brasil title as they secured a 4-1 aggregate victory over the Serie D outfit back in May.
Having played out a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw in the first leg on May 1, Pedro Caixinha's men got the job done on home turf three weeks later when they stormed to a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Back in the league, Bragantino failed to find their feet and were left empty handed on Saturday night when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against a rejuvenated Fluminense side at the Estadio Nabi Abi Chedid.
Kaua Elias's first-half strike was enough to separate the two sides as Fluminense turned in a defensive show of class in the second half to see out the result and make it three league wins on the trot for the first time this year.
Bragantino have now lost all but one of their most recent four Serie A matches — with a 1-0 victory over Paranaense on July 21 being the exception — a run which has seen them drop to 10th place in the standings.
The Massa Bruta will be backing themselves to secure the desired result on Wednesday as they journey to the Arena da Baixada unbeaten in their last four games against the hosts, claiming three wins and one draw since a 4-2 loss in June 2022.
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Team News
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Athletico Paranaense remain without the services of 21-year-old forward Vinicius Kaue, who has been sidelined since June through a severe injury.
Brazilian midfielder Felipinho has missed each of the last 12 games since coming off injured against Fortaleza on June 16 and will also play no part in Wednesday's tie.
Meanwhile, Bragantino will have to cope without 23-year-old midfielder Jadson, who has been sidelined since picking up a knee injury against Atletico Goianiense on July 4.
Veteran striker Eduardo Sasha has missed each of the last three matches through a hamstring problem and the 32-year-old is also out of contention for the Massa Bruta.
They are joined on the club's injury table by the duo of midfielder Nathan Camargo and 27-year-old defender Juninho Capixaba, who are both recuperating from knee injuries.
Athletico Paranaense possible starting lineup:
Linck; Erick, Rocha, Heleno, Fernando; Fernandinho, Cruz, Zapelli; Cuello, Julimar, Di Yorio
Bragantino possible starting lineup:
Lucao; N Mendes, S Mendes, Cunha; Candido; Raul, Evangelista, Lincoln; Junio, Borbas, Vitinho
We say: Athletico Paranaense 2-1 Bragantino
Having picked up two impressive victories in the last week, Athletico Paranaense will head into Wednesday's tie with confidence as they look to keep the ball rolling. Bragantino's recent results in this fixture should give them plenty of optimism, but we see the hosts coming out on top in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
