Preview: Cuiaba vs. Bragantino - prediction, team news, lineups

Cuiaba and Bragantino will both be aiming to clinch back-to-back victories when they face off at the Arena Pantanal on Saturday.

They currently reside in the Brasileiro relegation zone, while Bragantino enter the weekend in 11th place.

Match preview

Cuiaba have endured a chaotic opening 10 games to their Brasileiro season after Pintado vacated his head coach role on May 12.

Luiz Fernando Iubel took interim charge before the clubs announced at the beginning of this month that Antonio Oliveira would take over, with the new head coach holding his first training session last Sunday.

Despite leading the team in training, Oliveira was unable to appear in the dugout for Tuesday's 1-0 victory over Corinthians due to a delay with the necessary paperwork.

Oliveira watched on from the stands as his new side ended a six-game winless league run to clinch their third Brasileiro win of the season thanks to Uendel's first-half strike.

The new boss is expected to take charge of his first official game on Saturday, and the former Benfica B manager will be looking for improvements in the final third, with Cuiaba's 10 league matches yielding just eight goals - only Fortaleza have scored fewer.

Like their hosts, Bragantino also managed to end a winless run in midweek after narrowly beating Flamengo 1-0 on Wednesday.

Bragantino entered the home encounter without a win in nine matches in all competitions, but they got off to a flying start against Flamengo, with Luan Candido opening the scoring in the 18th minute.

Despite Candido being shown a straight red card with just over 20 minutes to play, Mauricio Barbieri's side held firm to win for the first time since the end of April.

Although Saturday's visitors sit in 11th position, a two-point gap to Cuiaba means that their opponents could leapfrog them at the weekend.

Their away league record suggests that Bragantino can be hopeful of achieving a positive result, with just one of their four away Brasileiro matches ending in defeat.

Team News

Elton is a doubt for the hosts, with the forward currently suffering with a thigh problem, while Valdivia will miss out through suspension after the second-half substitute was shown a straight red card in stoppage time against Corinthians.

After ending a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions with a 1-0 win on Tuesday, Cuiaba could name an unchanged lineup for Saturday's contest.

That would result in Andre keeping his place in the frontline, with the forward looking to add to the one goal that he has scored this season.

As for the visitors, they are expected to be without the services of Carlos Eduardo, Maycon Cleiton and Emiliano Martinez.

Ramon could slot in a left-back to replace Candido, who is suspended for Saturday's encounter following his red card on Wednesday.

There could also be change in midfield, with Jadsom in contention for a starting spot after coming off the bench in the second half of the previous game.

Cuiaba possible starting lineup:

Carlos; Lucas, Marllon, Empereur, Uendel; Gava, Camilo; Luis, Pepe, Marques; Andre

Bragantino possible starting lineup:

Cleiton; Aderlan, Ortiz, Natan, Ramon; Jadsom, Ramires; Artur, Praxedes, Helinho; Ytalo

We say: Cuiaba 1-0 Bragantino

Although Cuiaba enter the contest in the relegation zone, they have emerged victorious from the last two home meetings with Bragantino, and we think that they will manage to edge out the visitors on Saturday.

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