Corinthians and Flamengo will meet in the Copa do Brasil final for the first time, with the opening leg taking place at Corinthians Arena on Wednesday.
Timao advanced to this stage thanks to a 5-2 aggregate win over Fluminense, while Mengao came away with a comfortable 4-1 victory over two legs against Sao Paulo.
Match preview
© Reuters
Through most of their 2022 run at the Copa do Brasil, Corinthians have needed a convincing performance in the deciding leg, and they got the job done again last month, defeating Flu 3-0 after the opening match ended 2-2.
That was the third time in the competition this year that Vitor Pereira's men found themselves deadlocked or trailing following the opening encounter, winning the second game in each of those instances, conceding only once in those three second legs.
The progressive, attacking approach by their Portuguese boos has enabled this group to create plenty of scoring chances, netting 16 times in this competition and 38 times domestically, two shy of their total from the 2021 Brasileiro Serie A campaign, with seven matches remaining this season.
During this campaign, Corinthians have gotten off to some quick starts at home, scoring a first-half goal in each match at the Copa do Brasil and finding the back of the net 10 times in their last seven home games in all competitions.
They will be making their first appearance in the final of this tournament since 2018, when they were beaten 3-1 on aggregate by Cruzeiro, while their last triumph at this event came in 2009, defeating Internacional 4-2 over two legs.
They have fared well in the deciding matches of this season's competition, although historically, Corinthians have never won a Copa do Brasil final when tied or trailing after the opening fixture.
© Reuters
Making their first appearance in the final since 2017, Flamengo have a chance to inflict some more heartache on the club from the Tatuape district of Sao Paulo.
They eliminated them from the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores earlier this season, winning 3-0 on aggregate, including a 1-0 victory at Corinthians Arena in the opening leg, ending what was at the time a 21-match unbeaten run for Timao at home.
Over their last 14 games against Corinthians in all competitions, Urubu have only suffered one defeat, though they have never faced them in the Copa do Brasil.
Nine of their 12 goals scored in this year's competition have come in the second half, and five of their six goals this month have transpired in the final 45 minutes.
On Saturday, Dorival Junior saw his side end a two-match winless run away from home by beating Cuiaba 2-1, but despite that victory, Flamengo still conceded for a fifth time on the road in their last three games.
Their only defeat in the 2022 Copa do Brasil thus far came away from home when they were edged 2-1 by Atletico Mineiro, losing only two of their 14 road fixtures in all competitions since that defeat, one of which was at Corinthians Arena in July (1-0).
Team News
© Reuters
Ruan Oliveira will not be available for Corinthians because of an ACL injury, while Pereira made one change in his starting 11 from leg one to two versus Fluminense as Gustavo Silva took the place of Adson for the deciding encounter.
Giuliano is second in this competition for goals at four, one fewer than German Cano of Flu, Cassio picked up his third clean sheet of the Copa do Brasil in their previous fixture when Renato Augusto, Giuliano and an own goal from Felipe Melo helped them to a 3-0 victory.
Corinthians have only managed to score once in their last five outings versus Mengao, when an own goal from Rodinei enabled the home side to triumph earlier this season.
Giorgian De Arrascaeta, who leads Flamengo with three goals in this competition, notched the winner for his former team Cruzeiro when they defeated Corinthians in the 2018 final, while Santos has four clean sheets in the Copa do Brasil for Urubu this season.
Bruno Henrique has six goals for Flamengo against Corinthians, Gabriel Barbosa has three, while Pedro scored the last time these sides met in August, helping his team earn a 1-0 victory in the second leg of that Copa Libertadores tie.
Rodrigo Caio remains out because of a problem in his knee, while Erick Pulgar is dealing with an ankle injury which is expected to keep him off the field until late October.
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Fagner, Gil, Balbuena, Santos; Adson, Vera; Silva, Augusto, Guedes; Alberto
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Santos; Rodinei, Luiz, Pereira, Luis; Ribeiro, Diego, Gomes, De Arrascaeta; Barbosa, Pedro
We say: Corinthians 1-1 Flamengo
Flamengo have never lost the opening fixture in their seven previous appearances in the final of this competition, though they are going up against one of the best Brazilian sides at home on Wednesday.
Both of these coaches are aggressive in their tactics and have match winners who they can depend on, but we are predicting a draw because these opening games tend to be cagier affairs with less urgency, knowing that this is a two-leg final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
