Seeking to seal their place in the Copa Libertadores, Bragantino play hosts to Internacional at the Estadio Nabi Abi Chedid in a thrilling Brasileiro Serie A season finale on Thursday.
The visitors, who are currently in the final Copa Sudamericana spot in the table, will head into the game aiming to avoid dropping points and seal their place in the continental tournament.
Match preview
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Red Bull Bragantino kicked off the season with so much promise as they seemed to mount a proper title challenge, but they currently find themselves in sixth place in the Brasileiro Serie A table, just two points above the Copa Sudamericana qualification spots.
While their recent defensive frailties have been a major source of concern, it is worth noting that this decline is in no small part owing to their struggles on home turf where they boast the division's fourth-worst record at home with 27 points from 18 games.
Red Bull Bragantino head into Thursday's game fresh off the back of a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Atletico Mineiro at the Arena Independencia.
After Keno and Ytalo scored for either side to end the first half level, Artur netted two minutes after the interval to put the visitors ahead, but the Roosters quickly turned the game on its head through goals from Matias Zaracho, Jefferson Savarino and Hulk, before Artur halved the deficit with his second of the game in the 10th minute of injury time.
This was a fourth defeat in five games for Mauricio Barbieri's side, who are without a win in that time and have picked up just four points from their last 24 available.
While the Massa Bruta will be seeking to end this dire run and close out their season on a high, they face the stern test of going up against an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of the last three meetings between the teams, claiming two wins and one draw.
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Similarly, Internacional's string of poor performances continued last time out when they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Atletico Goianiense on home turf.
In an action-packed first half at the Estadio Beira-Rio, Brazilian youngster Yuri Alberto put the hosts ahead three minutes after the half-hour mark, but Baralhas and Janderson netted in a two-minute spell to turn the game around just before the interval.
Internacional have now failed to taste victory in any of their last five games, picking up just one draw and losing four since a 2-1 victory over Athletico Paranaense on November 13.
This slump in form has seen Diego Aguirre's men drop to 12th place in the Serie A table, one point behind Santos and level on points with Sao Paulo just outside the Copa Sudamericana places.
This has been owing to their struggles on the road in recent weeks, as they head into Thursday's game having lost their most recent five away games on the trot and without a win in their last seven.
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Team News
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Red Bull Bragantino head into the game with a few concerns on the injury front as the Brazilian trio of Victor Hugo Carvalho, Luas Evangelista and Raul continue their spells on the sidelines.
Another name in the club's injury table is Colombian defender Leonardo Realpe, who picked up an injury in November's 3-0 defeat against Gremio.
With his brace last time out, Artur now has 19 goal involvements to his name and we expect the 23-year-old midfielder to handle business at the centre of the park once again.
Up top, we expect veteran forward Ytalo, who has 12 goals under his belt this season, to spearhead the attack once again.
Internacional, meanwhile, remain without the services of Brazilian defender Rodrigo Moledo, who continues to miss out after sustaining a cruciate ligament rupture.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow countrymen Mello Vinicius and Daniel Brito, who continue their lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Bragantino possible starting lineup:
Cleiton; Aderlan, Bruno, Ortiz, Candido; Jadsom, Martinez; Arthur, Praxedes, Novaes; Ytalo
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Lomba; Heitor, Mendez, Cuesta, Moises; Edenilson, Ze Gabriel; Palacios, Taison, Patrick; Alberto
We say: Bragantino 1-2 Internacional
Considering the stakes of this game for both sides, we anticipate a thrilling and action-packed contest on Thursday. Red Bull Bragantino have struggled to perform at home this season and we predict the visitors will extend their dominance in this fixture and claim all three points, albeit by a slender margin.
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 Bragantino win with a probability of 42.82%. A win for Internacional had a probability of 29.32% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bragantino win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.47%) and 2-0 (8.27%). The likeliest Internacional win was 0-1 (10.03%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.03%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Bragantino in this match.
