Sport Recife and newly-promoted Cuiaba lock horns in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A on Monday, hoping to claim all three points and climb further away from the relegation zone.
The hosts' only victory so far this campaign came on home soil against Gremio earlier this month, while the visitors – who will be playing their fourth successive match on the road – have drawn their last two away games.
Match preview
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Sport Recife suffered their fourth league defeat of the campaign when they lost 2-1 away to Corinthians on Friday.
An Iago Maidana own goal deep into first-half stoppage time gave the hosts the lead, before Jo doubled Timao's lead seven minutes after the break. Santiago Trellez pulled one back in the 82nd minute for Recife, but they were unable to find an equaliser in the dying embers of the match.
Umberto Louzer's side have claimed just four points from a possible 18 available and are positioned just one point above the relegation zone in 15th place.
The last time Sport Recife faced Cuiaba was in 2019 when they were promoted from Serie B, drawing 1-1 and winning 2-0 against them in July and October of that season.
Securing all three points on Monday would only see Louzer's men climb one place up to 14th, one point behind Santos, who they will face next Thursday.
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Cuiaba claimed an impressive point against Sao Paulo on Monday, when they drew 2-2 away at the Estadio Cicero Pompeu de Toledo.
After Rafael Gava had cancelled out Martin Benitez's opener, Elton then scored his second of the campaign 39 minutes in to give Cuiaba the lead; their lead did not last long, however, as Gabriel Sara equalised just four minutes later.
Neither side could find the net in the second half and the spoils were eventually shared, which means the Golden Dourado Fish remain winless from their opening four matches, drawing three and losing once against Fluminense earlier this month.
Luiz Fernando Iubel is currently in interim charge after the club parted company with Alberto Valentim last month, and he will be hoping his side can soon open their account with a victory and move clear of the relegation zone, which they currently sit just above on goal difference.
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Team News
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Sport Recife will be without Joao Igor (knee) and Leandro Barcia (knee) due to injury, while Junior Tavares is ruled out with flu.
Louzer has started with a back five in each of his last three games, with Maidana, Rafael Thyere and Sabino playing at centre-back.
These three are set to remain in the first XI, as are full-backs Hayner and Victor Gabriel, with central midfielders Marcao and Thiago Lopes to sit just in front of the defence.
Forward Andre, who has scored just one goal so far this campaign, is expected to lead the line up front once again ahead of Mikael and Trellez.
As for Cuiaba, Iudel may be tempted to stick with the same starting lineup that drew with Sao Paulo on Friday.
Clayson has started each of the last four matches on the left-wing and he is likely to be selected here again, with Cafu on the opposite flank and Elton leading the line as the lone striker.
Sport Recife possible starting lineup:
Maylson; Hayner, Thyere, Maidana, Sabino, Gabriel; Marquinhos, Marcao, Lopes, Paulinho; Andre
Cuiaba possible starting lineup:
Walter; Lucas, Marllon, Paulao, Hernandez; Cafu, Yuri, Gava, Pepe, Clayson; Elton
We say: Sport Recife 1-1 Cuiaba
Both sides have yet to get going in the top-flight this season and will hoping that their fortunes can turn around quickly, starting with a win in Monday's encounter. However, with little to separate the two teams, a score draw could be on the cards at the Estadio Retiro Island.
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 Sport Recife win with a probability of 42.74%. A win for Cuiaba had a probability of 29.61% and a draw had a probability of 27.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sport Recife win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.52%) and 2-0 (8.17%). The likeliest Cuiaba win was 0-1 (9.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.98%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood.
