Fresh off the back of picking up their first league win since April, Fluminense play host to Palmeiras in round 19 of the Brasileiro Serie A on Wednesday.
The Verdao have failed to taste victory in any of their last six visits to the Estadio do Maracana since a 1-0 win in September 2017 and will head into the midweek clash looking to end this poor run.
Match preview
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After a horror three-month spell, Fluminense finally gave their fans something to cheer about as they picked up a deserved 1-0 victory over Cuiaba at the Arena Pantanal on Sunday night.
With nothing separating the sides heading into the final 20 minutes, 18-year-old striker Kaua Elias came up clutch for the visitors as he netted the only goal of the game just six minutes after coming off the bench to hand Cuiaba their eighth defeat of the season.
This was a much-needed respite for Fluminense, who had failed to win any of their previous 13 league matches, losing nine and claiming four draws since scraping a 2-1 victory over Vasco da Gama on April 20.
The appointment of head coach Mano Menezes brought a change in fortunes for the Tricolor, who are unbeaten in three of their four games since his arrival, claiming one win and two draws — having managed just two points from the previous 10 games preceding this run.
With 11 points from 17 matches, Fluminense are currently bottom but one in the Serie A standings, level on points with last-placed Atletico Goianiense, albeit with one game in hand.
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On the other hand, Palmeiras kicked off their return to the top of the league table as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Cruzeiro when the sides squared off on Monday morning.
In a one-sided affair at Allianz Parque, Jose Lopez opened the scoring in the 36th minute to hand the home side the lead before substitute Gabriel Menino put the result beyond doubt with a 92nd-minute strike.
Prior to that, Abel Ferreira's men saw their four-game unbeaten run come to an end on July 18, when they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Botafogo at the Estadio Nilton Santos courtesy of a second-half strike from Tiquinho Soares.
Palmeiras have now picked up 11 wins from their 18 Serie A matches while losing four and claiming three draws to collect 36 points and sit second in the table, just three points behind league leaders Botafogo.
While the Verdao will be looking to pick up where they left off against Cruzeiro, they have struggled for results on the road in recent weeks, claiming just one point from their last three away matches while scoring twice and conceding six goals.
However, Palmeiras will be backing themselves to end this poor run on Wednesday as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in 15 of their last 20 encounters, picking up 12 wins and three draws since July 2008.
Team News
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The main team news prior to kickoff at the weekend was Thiago Silva making his first appearance since his move from Chelsea, and after a solid display at the Arena Pantanal, the 39-year-old should retain his role at the heart of the Fluminense defence.
Guga was shown a red card on the substitutes' bench in the first half against Cuiaba and the former Atletico Mineiro defender is out of contention for Wednesday's game.
On the injury front, Menezes will be unable to name Lucas Calegari (ankle), David Terans (calf), Manoel (thigh) and Felipe Melo (muscle), who all continue their spells on the sidelines.
Veteran full-back Marcelo has missed each of the last four games since coming off with a thigh problem against Gremio on June 30 while Vinicius Lima is currently recuperating from a muscle injury.
Palmeiras have their fair share of injury concerns, with Mayke (groin), Joaquin Piquerez (knee) and Brazilian forward Lazaro (thigh) all ruled out of Wednesday's game.
Teenage sensation Willian Estevao missed the weekend's victory against Cruzeiro due to an ankle problem and is a major doubt for the visitors while Bruno Rodrigues continues his long road to full fitness after suffering a knee injury in January.
With his opener against Cruzeiro, Lopez now has five goal involvements in his last eight games and the Argentine forward should retain his role in the Verdao attack, forming the front three with Dudu and Felipe Anderson.
Fluminense possible starting lineup:
Fabio; Xavier, Silva, Santos, Barbosa; Martinelli, Andre; Arias, Ganso, Marquinhos; Cano
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Weverton; Rocha, Cerqueira, Gomez, Vanderlan; Moreno, Ze Rafael, Veiga; Dudu, Anderson, Lopez
We say: Fluminense 0-2 Palmeiras
Buoyed by their results at Cuiaba, Fluminense will head into Wednesday's tie with confidence as they look to continue their surge from the danger zone. However, Palmeiras have put together a solid run of results in recent weeks and we fancy them to secure all three points at the Maracana.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
