A place in the Copa do Brasil final will be on the line when Corinthians host Fluminense at Corinthians Arena on Thursday.
Last month, a 90th-minute tally enabled Timao to walk away from the Maracana with a 2-2 draw in the first leg as they look to advance beyond this stage of the competition for the first time since 2018.
Match preview
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Another resilient comeback for Corinthians at the end of August has them in an ideal position to make the final of this competition.
Coming from behind has been among the big stories for this side throughout the majority of the 2022 Copa do Brasil.
Vitor Pereira saw his side draw Portuguesa RJ 1-1 in their opening third-round affair before reversing a 2-0 deficit in the quarter-finals by beating Atletico Goianiense 4-1 in the return fixture and then twice coming back from one-goal deficits against Flu just over two weeks ago.
While their track record suggests this team will be in for another close game on Thursday, Corinthians will fancy their chances to advance given their home form.
They have only lost twice at Corinthians Arena in all competitions since February, with those defeats coming against Flamengo and Palmeiras.
Timao hold a 100% record at home in this competition, outscoring their opponents 10-1 in those three matches, while winning four of their previous five games at home to Fluminense, failing to concede a goal against them in back-to-back encounters.
Corinthians are one of Brazil's most well-organised and compact defensive units, currently tied for third when it comes to goals conceded in the current Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A campaign (25).
In seven previous appearances at the semi-finals of this competition, the club from the Tatuape district of Sao Paulo have only been eliminated once, back in 1997.
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Making their first semi-final appearance at this competition since 2015, Fluminense started the opening leg brightly, earning a penalty and taking the lead after four minutes, ending the game with 65% of the possession, holding the visitors to just two shots on target.
The bad news is that they conceded on both of those efforts, and now they will have to do something they have not managed to do since late July in any competition, win away from home.
It is by no means a lost cause for them, as they hold a 100% road record in the Copa do Brasil this year, winning all three of their away matches by a combined score of 6-0.
Flu have triumphed in every match at this competition when scoring the opening goal, though they have only been able to do that once in their previous three domestic fixtures, defeating Fortaleza 2-1 last weekend.
Their opponents on Thursday may have one of the best defences in the Brasileiro Serie A, but Fernando Diniz's men can boast one of the best attacks in the top-flight, scoring the third-most goals to this point of the domestic campaign (40).
Tricolor have not advanced beyond this stage of the Copa do Brasil since 2007, when they lifted the trophy for the first and only time to date, losing on penalties in the 2015 semi-final versus Palmeiras.
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Team News
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Roger Guedes notched the equaliser in the 90th minute of the opening leg for Corinthians as he and Renato Augusto tallied for the first time at the competition, with Yuri Alberto and Fagner collecting assists.
Augusto leads the team with three assists so far at this tournament, while Giuliano has three goals to lead them in that department.
Adson has three goals domestically but is still searching for his first in the Copa do Brasil, and Jo has four goals in league play versus Flu.
Former winger Gabriel Pereira had the only goal versus Fluzao in a 1-0 triumph domestically at Corinthians Arena last season, as Cassio made seven saves in that encounter for the clean sheet.
Ruan is nursing an ACL issue, Maycon has a broken toe, while Raul Gustavo and Rafael Ramos are both dealing with thigh injuries.
Ganso scored from the penalty spot for Fluminense in the opening leg, his third of the tournament, and Jhon Arias picked up his second goal in the Copa do Brasil.
German Cano leads all scorers at this competition with five goals, Fabio has not conceded in three road matches at this tournament and Willian is searching for his first strike after netting three times domestically.
Luan Freitas is not expected back until late September because of a sore knee, David Duarte continues to recover from a thigh issue and Matheus Ferraz is out for the season with a knee injury.
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Piton, Balbuena, Gil, Fagner; Augusto, Vera, Vital; Guedes, Alberto, Giuliano
Fluminense possible starting lineup:
Fabio; S. Xavier, Nino, Manoel, Paulista; Andre, Nathan; Martinelli, Ganso, Arias; Cano
We say: Corinthians 1-1 Fluminense (Corinthians advance on penalties)
The deciding match of this tie will be a challenging game to call seeing as one team is sharp in the attack, while the other is stingy along the backline.
We are giving the home side a slight edge because of their impressive form at Corinthians Arena, though in reality this match could go either way.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
