Bragantino have a chance to potentially move back into a top-four position in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A with a victory over Flamengo on Wednesday at Estadio Nabi Abi Chedid.
Each side recently moved a step closer to continental glory, with Bragantino making it to the final of the Copa Sudamericana, while Flamengo will have the opportunity to capture their third Copa Libertadores title after eliminating Barcelona SC in the previous round.
Match preview
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Despite being on the verge of their first continental trophy, Bragantino have not had the same kind of consistency in the league like they have in the Sudamericana.
Over the weekend, Mauricio Barbieri had to have thought that his side were on their way to beating Corinthians after Jan Hurtado gave them a 2-0 lead only to see his players crumble in the final stages of the game, conceding in the 90th and 96th minute to come away with a single point.
Holding on to leads has been an issue for them lately as that match was the fourth consecutive league fixture in which Braga had scored first but failed to come away victorious.
On the plus side they seem to have found their scoring touch again with goals in 11 consecutive games in all competitions, but they have also squandered some points which have prevented them from moving further up the table.
At the moment, the winnable matches have proven to be their demise, with defeats to Juventude and Chapecoense, plus a draw against Sport Recife and Bahia, four teams who are struggling near the bottom of the standings.
Back in June, they came out on top against the defending Serie A champions, thanks to a goal in the 98th minute to win 3-2.
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In the last few weeks, we are starting to see the real Flamengo show up more often, the one that captured the domestic title last year for the seventh time.
Flamengo have a chance to win this competition in three successive campaigns, which if successful would make them the first Brazilian side to do so since Sao Paulo did it in between 2006 and 2008.
Renato Gaucho knows that his team have ground to make up, as they trail the leaders Atletico Mineiro by 11 points, however, his side have played fewer games than anyone in the league, with only 20 matches thus far, while the two teams above them Palmeiras and Atletico have both played 22.
Since he took over from Rogerio Ceni in July, this team have been clinical in the final third, scoring 21 goals in Gaucho's first five matches in charge.
Urubu have been particularly dominant on the road in league play with eight goals in their previous three fixtures while only conceding twice.
This will be a big week for the club in their quest for a third successive title with games against Braga and then Fortaleza, two sides who trail them by four points or fewer, so winning those matches would not only put them closer to first place, but it would create some much-needed breathing room in between themselves and the teams just below them.
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Team News
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The last time these teams met back in June, it was Braga substitute Chrigor who scored the game-winner deep into injury time, but he has since moved on to America Mineiro, while the other two goals for them came courtesy of Eric Ramires and Aderlan.
Their leading goalscorer Ytalo, who is tied for second in the league in goals with eight, has not scored in Serie A play in his last two games, while Luan Candido picked up his third strike of the campaign over the weekend.
Tomas Cuello had a brace, and Artur added one in their second leg victory over Libertad at the Copa Sudamericana, though Cuello has only scored once in the league while Artur has not scored a Serie A goal since September 11.
Rodrigo Muniz scored twice versus Bragantino in their first match, but it was not enough to help his side earn any points, and he has since moved on after signing with Fulham in August.
Throughout the year, Bruno Henrique has been their clutch performer, scoring three goals in his last three games in all competitions and leading the league with nine so far.
Vitinho has been a solid provider throughout the year with five assists, and Gabriel Barbosa has chipped in with six goals himself, while Kenedy is still looking for his first of the year after extending his loan deal from Chelsea until 2022.
Bragantino possible starting lineup:
Cleiton; Aderlan, Bruno, Ortiz, Edimar; Jadsom, Ramires; Artur, Helinho, Cuello; Ytalo
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Alves; Isla, Caio, L. Pereira, Rene; Ribeiro, Arao, A. Pereira, Michael; Barbosa, Henrique
We say: Bragantino 1-3 Flamengo
Bragantino seem to have rediscovered how to score but so have the defending champions, who have 14 goals in their last five matches in all competitions.
It appears that Flamengo are starting to hit their stride both in front of goal and on the defensive side which could make life very difficult for Braga.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 Flamengo win with a probability of 61.98%. A draw had a probability of 21.3% and a win for Bragantino had a probability of 16.72%.
The most likely scoreline for a Flamengo win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.95%) and 1-2 (9.91%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.11%), while for a Bragantino win it was 1-0 (5.17%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.1% likelihood.
