Corinthians and Sport Recife lock horns at the Neo Quimica Arena on Thursday, with both sides looking to claim all three points and climb the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table.
The hosts have failed to win any of their last four matches across all competitions, while the visitors have only won one of their previous seven games.
Match preview
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Corinthians failed to score for the fourth time in their last seven matches across all competitions, when they played out a goalless stalemate away at Bahia last weekend.
Sylvinho's side failed to threaten the hosts' goal in the first half, but they came close to scoring twice after the break when Ramiro's glancing header was tipped over the crossbar by goalkeeper Matheus Teixeira, shortly before former Manchester City forward Jo was denied a tap-in at the far post, when Fagner's low-driven cross was brilliantly cleared by defender Renan Guedes.
Bahia nearly snatched the win in the 89th minute but goalkeeper Cassio Ramos made a diving save to his left to keep out a powerful strike from Thonny Anderson.
The spoils were eventually shared and that result means that the seven-time Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A champions have dropped down to 11th in the table, seven points behind league leaders Athletico Paranaense.
Corinthians have lost each of their last three home matches in all competitions, but a victory on Thursday against Sport Recife could see them climb as high as seventh in the table.
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After claiming their first victory against basement club Gremio last week, Sport Recife were unable to follow that up with a positive result, as they lost 1-0 away at Juventude on Monday.
The game was goalless heading into the final 10 minutes and Recife looked like they were going to claim a point, however Juventude broke the deadlock in the 83rd minute when striker Matheus Peixoto managed to place the ball into the bottom left-hand corner from inside the penalty area.
That result means Umberto Louzer's side have lost three of their opening five league matches and now sit 15th in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table, just two points above the relegation zone.
Sport Recife have done well in recent matches against Corinthians on home soil, claiming seven points from their last three meetings. However, they have not been so successful on the road against Timao, losing each of their last four games and conceding a combined 11 goals in the process.
Victory on Thursday could see Recife climb as high as eighth in the table and five points clear of Cuiaba, who they face on Monday.
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Team News
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Corinthians have several players ruled out with injury including Luan (thigh), Gustavo Mantuan (knee), Leo Natel (shoulder), Danilo Avelar (knee), Caique Franca (hernia) and Ruan Oliveira (knee), while Romulo Otero has tested positive for coronavirus.
Sylvinho may decide to pick the same starting lineup that was named for last weekend's match, which could see Ramiro keep his place on the right wing ahead of Gustavo Silva.
Victor Cantillo, Roni and Gabriel are all likely to start in centre midfield, while Jo is set to keep his place up front.
Sport Recife will be without Junior Tavares (flu), Joao Igor (knee), Leandro Barcia (knee) due to illness or injury, while midfielder Thiago Neves is doubtful with a calf problem.
Louzer has started with a back five in both of his last two games, with Rafael Thyere, Iago Maidana and Sabino playing at centre-back.
These three are set to remain in the first XI, as are full-backs Hayner and Sander, with central midfielders Marcao and Thiago Lopes to sit just in front of the defence.
Forward Andre, who has scored just one goal so far this campaign, is expected to lead the line up front once again ahead of Mikael.
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Fagner, Victor, Gil, Santos; Cantillo; Ramiro, Roni, Gabriel, Vital; Luan
Sport Recife possible starting lineup:
Maylson; Hayner, Thyere, Maidana, Sabino, Sander; Marquinhos, Marcao, Lopes, Paulinho; Andre
We say: Corinthians 1-1 Sport Recife
Both teams have had an inconsistent start to their 2021 campaigns and will now be looking to put a good run of form together to help them move further up the table.
There is little to separate the two sides in this encounter and so we feel that a draw could be on the cards this Thursday.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
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 Corinthians win with a probability of 40.13%. A win for Sport Recife had a probability of 32.06% and a draw had a probability of 27.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Corinthians win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.26%) and 2-0 (7.52%). The likeliest Sport Recife win was 0-1 (10.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.08%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Corinthians would win this match.
