Atletico Goianiense and Athletico Paranaense meet in Brasileiro on Wednesday evening with both teams locked on the same points after 22 matches.
The two teams sit in 10th and ninth place respectively, Athletico PR holding a slender advantage due to scoring nine goals more than their next opponents.
Match preview
© Reuters
Athletico PR have enjoyed somewhat of a purple patch in all competitions, recording five successive victories before the league defeat against Flamengo.
Antonio Oliveira will hope that succumbing by a 3-0 scoreline to the second-placed side in Brasileiro will not have long-term ramifications for their confidence.
Nevertheless, with the games continuing to come thick and fast and another showdown with Flamengo coming in the latter stages of the cup, Oliveira will demand an instant response.
Before their recent first-half capitulation, Athletico PR had scored 10 goals over a four-game period, Pedro Rocha the star man during that run with four goals.
As well as matching their opponents for points across the season, Athletico PR have also accumulated seven points from their last six league games.
Atletico GO have reached that tally courtesy of four draws, but they added a win to that run with a terrific 3-0 victory away at high-flying Fortaleza at the weekend.
Most importantly, Dragao have moved seven points clear of the relegation zone, although that is only one part of the conundrum which comes into consideration for Eduardo Barroca.
Atletico GO, who possess the third-best defensive record in the division, now sit just four points adrift of fifth position and hold a game in hand on two of the teams in their sights.
However, Ze Roberto remains as the club's leading marksman with five goals, something which must improve if they are to make further progress up the table.
- D
- D
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
Team News
With Atletico GO having played on Saturday evening, Barroca may feel comfortable in naming the same side which stunned Fortaleza.
However, Baralhas and Brian Montenegro both scored as substitutes, putting them in contention for a recall to the side.
Given the manner of their defeat at Flamengo, Oliveira was able to rest a number of Athletico PA players during the latter stages of the game.
That may potentially lead to alterations being kept to a minimum with the only switch potentially seeing Khelven replace Erick at right wing-back.
Fernando Canesin could come into the midfield if Oliveira wants to introduce fresh legs in the centre of the pitch.
Atletico Goianiense possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Santos, Wanderson, Eder, Carius; Barbosa, Maranhao; Luis, Paulo, Ronald; Roberto
Athletico Paranaense possible starting lineup:
Santos; Henrique, Fasson, Hernandez; Khelven, Christian, Cittadini, Nicolas; Eduardo, Rocha; Kayzer
We say: Atletico Goianiense 1-1 Athletico Paranaense
Taking everything into consideration, can we really predict anything other than a draw? Despite the carrot of potentially being able to move into seventh position, we feel that these two teams will ultimately cancel each other out in a competitive game.
Top tip
Darren Plant
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 Atletico Goianiense win with a probability of 48.09%. A draw had a probability of 28.4% and a win for Athletico Paranaense had a probability of 23.5%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Goianiense win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.15%) and 2-1 (8.41%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.76%), while for an Athletico Paranaense win it was 0-1 (9.7%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 4% likelihood.
