Preview:Ceara vs. Internacional - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to end a six-year wait for a win in this fixture, Ceara welcome Internacional in Thursday night's Brasileiro encounter at Estadio Placido Aderaldo Castelo.

The hosts enter the gameweek 34 encounter in better form, having won two of their previous three games, while Inter have gone winless in their past five top-flight fixtures.

Match preview

Ceara's wait for a victory over Internacional stands at seven matches over the last six years, since a 2-0 success in November 2019.

That remains their only triumph in the last 10 matches, with five losses and four draws during that time.

However, the Fortaleza-based team will head into Thursday night aware of their improved prospects of ending that wait, considering Vozao's improved form.

Having lost three on the spin against Botafogo, Atletico Mineiro and Fluminense without scoring, Leonardo Rodrigues Conde’s team have now accumulated seven points from the last three matches, keeping clean sheets in wins over Flu and Corinthians and playing out a 1-1 draw against city rivals Fortaleza.

Those results have elevated Ceara to 12th in the table on 42 points, positioning them for qualification for the Copa Sudamericana group stage.

Internacional, on the other hand, have slipped outside those coveted positions, with their ongoing winless run seeing Ramon Diaz’s team placed 15th in the standings on 37 points, not helped by going five matches without success in the league.

Standing out during the ongoing run has been Inter's inability to score consistently, especially since they fired blanks in four consecutive matches — suffering 1-0 losses to Bahia, Fluminense and Vitoria and playing out a 0-0 draw with Atletico — before a 2-2 draw with Bahia.

Supporters will be disappointed by the dip, which followed a little upswing following Diaz's appointment in late September; he picked up eight points from an available 15 (one defeat), having taken over a side that had lost four league games in five under Roger Machado.

The seeming lift in results, however, was short-lived, and the recent drop-off leaves last season's fifth-placed team down in 15th, five points off Sudamericana qualification and two places and two spots outside the relegation places.

Another disappointing result on Thursday and Vitoria securing maximum points against Bragantino could see Clube do Povo slip into the dreaded bottom four at the end of the midweek round.

Previous results against Ceara may provide positive historical precedent, but Inter's form may be detrimental to extending their six-year unbeaten run in this fixture.

Ceara Brasileiro form:

Ceara form (all competitions):

Internacional Brasileiro form:

Internacional form (all competitions):

Team News

While Vina returns from suspension, Rafael Ramos's third yellow card of the season rules him out of Thursday's fixture.

Although Vovo do not have a lengthy injury list, Luis Otavio (knee) and Fernando Sobral (ankle) are sidelined.

While Pedro Raul has yet to assist anyone this season, his 10 goals account for 32.3% of the home team's 31 top-flight goals.

Missing due to suspension for Internacional is Thiago Maia, following his third booking of the season against Bahia last time out, while Sergio Rochet (foot), Ronaldo (knee) and Braian Aguirre (heel) are absent because of injury.

Inter's top performer is undoubtedly Alan Patrick, who has scored nine times and assisted six, and the attacking midfielder aims to add to his 15 goal contributions in the midweek round.

Ceara possible starting lineup:

Ferreira; Souza, Victor, Machado, Bahia; Zanocelo, Dieguinho; Galeano, Vina, Henrique; Raul

Internacional possible starting lineup:

Ivan; Gomes, Mercado, Vitao, Bernabei; Otavio, Henrique; Vitinho, Patrick, Carbonero; Borre

We say: Ceara 1-1 Internacional

While Internacional lost to Vitoria recently, they have secured two draws either side of that damaging defeat in the battle to avoid the drop and possibly secure a guaranteed Sudamericana spot.

The precedent in this fixture and recent stalemates point to another draw in Fortaleza, where they should avoid losing to Ceara and extend their unbeaten streak in this fixture.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.