Preview: Corinthians vs. Coritiba - prediction, team news, lineups

Corinthians will be looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats when they welcome Coritiba to the Neo Quimica Arena on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Coritba will be aiming to clinch three points that would help them move away from the Brasileiro relegation zone.

---

Match preview

After booking their place in the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals - despite losing the second leg of their last 16 tie to Santos - Corinthians travelled to Castelao to face Ceara at the weekend.

The visitors could not have wished for a better start after Roger Guedes opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but goals from Bruno Pacheco and Vina turned the game on its head to give Ceara a 2-1 lead at half time.

Corinthians were unable to find the leveller before Cleber found the net in 77th minute to wrap up a 3-1 victory for Ceara.

Despite losing at the weekend, Vitor Pereira's side remain in the hunt for the Brasileiro title, with two points separating them from league leaders Atletico Mineiro.

Corinthians side will now turn their focus to protecting their unbeaten home record after winning five and drawing three of their home league games this season.

While the hosts are embroiled in a title race, Cortiba sit just one point clear of the relegation zone ahead of Wednesday's contest.

The visitors have found winning games a tricky task, with their last nine matches yielding only one victory, which came against Fortaleza on July 3.

However, they have failed to build upon that win after picking up only one point from their last two matches, leaving them in 16th place.

Having conceded in each of their previous nine matches, Coritiba know that they need to improve defensively if they are to move away from danger.

With the visitors looking to climb up the table, they also need to offer an improvement on their travels after failing to win any of their last nine away games in all competitions.

---

Team News

Corinthians are unable to call upon the services of Willian, Junior Moraes and Fagner, who are all ruled out due to injury issues.

Renato Augusto was nearing a return to action, but the midfielder has suffered a setback in his recovery from a calf problem, which will rule him out of Wednesday's contest.

Rafael Ramos could slot in at right-back, while Roni may also come into the side to feature in the Corinthians midfield.

As for the visitors, Diego Porfirio and Warley are both expected to be unavailable due to injury issues, while Robinho is a doubt due to a thigh problem.

After serving a one-match suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards, Henrique is set to return to the starting lineup for Wednesday's contest.

Leo Gamalho has scored two goals in Coritiba's last three matches, and the 30-year-old is expected to partner Adrian Martinez up front against Corinthians.

Corinthians possible starting lineup:

Donelli; Ramos, Gil, Gustavo, Santos; Du Queiroz, Roni; Adson, Giuliano, Mosquito, Guedes

Coritiba possible starting lineup:

Muralha; Alexandre, Henrique, Castan, Egidio; Paixao, Val, Farias, Galarza; Gamalho, Martinez

---

We say: Corinthians 2-1 Coritiba

Corinthians are yet to lose at home in the league this season, and we think they will get the better of a Coritiba side that have lost seven of their last nine away games in all competitions.

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

---