Cuiaba will hope to extend their unbeaten run to five games in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A when they host Corinthians on Monday at Arena Pantanal.
Dourado are 15th after edging Atletico Goianiense 2-1, while Timao were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Atletico Mineiro last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
It looks like Cuiaba have started to come together at long last, winning back to back games to move up the table in Brazil, their only two wins of this campaign.
Their recipe for success thus far, simply put, has been to score goals and score them in bunches, as they are unbeaten in Serie A when they score multiple goals in a match.
More often than not, their manager Jorginho has seen his team come alive just in the nick of time to rescue some points, earning two draws when trailing with less than 15 minutes remaining and earning all three points a couple of weeks ago with an 88th-minute strike.
Jorginho, a former Brazilian full-back, knows a thing or two about winning, having captured the World Cup with Brazil in 1994, and he is hoping that his successes and experience can rub off on this young team.
A win over Corinthians could give this team a lot more breathing room in the table, as they are only two points ahead of Sport Recife for relegation, but if they can earn three points in this match, they could move up to 12th.
© Reuters
Currently, in the middle of their longest losing streak of the season (two games), Timao will hope to get back on track and earn some points.
This side have not done themselves a lot of favours throughout their first dozen games, but they also are not doing enough to hurt themselves, having yet to win consecutive games this season and only losing successive fixtures once.
Two of their three victories in this campaign have come away from home, so they will be keen to capture another win on Monday which could move them into the top half of the table.
Sylvinho will have had a couple of extra days to rest his players for this encounter, something that will be sorely needed as they prepare to play two games in six days, beginning on Monday.
In a league that is driven by wide open, free-flowing football and lots of goals, Corinthians have had success by limiting the number of opportunities that their opponents get, which has always kept their matches close.
So far this season, they have scored multiple goals only once, but they have not lost or won a game by more than a goal.
- L
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Cuiaba striker Elton has been leading the frontline lately with a goal in each of his last three games as he leads the team with five so far in this campaign, while Pepe returned from his red card suspension to score the opening goal last weekend in their 2-1 win over Atletico Goianiense.
Goalkeeper Joao Carlos has started the last three matches for his side instead of Walter and has conceded five goals, but Walter may get the start in this one against the team that loaned him to Cuiaba for the season.
Jorginho has gone with the same defensive set-up over the past three games, with the back four consisting of Joao Lucas, Marllon, Paulao and Uendel.
Corinthians top goalscorer Jo will hope to get back into form after failing to score in his last two fixtures, while Gustavo Silva got his name on the scoresheet for the first time in their previous match against Atletico Mineiro, which ended in a 2-1 loss.
Their goalkeeper Cassio has four clean sheets already this year, but he has conceded three goals in his last two matches.
Gil has one assist so far this season but is yet to find the back of the net in league play after netting twice in their previous campaign.
Cuiaba possible starting lineup:
Walter; Lucas, Marllon, Paulao, Uendel; Gomes, Junior, Pepe, Gava; Elton, Clayson
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Fagner, Victor, Gil, Fabio Santos; Araos, Pereira, Xavier; Silva, Jo, Luan
We say: Cuiaba 2-1 Corinthians
Cuiaba are starting to gain some confidence, and they have been clinical in front of goal, scoring multiple goals in their previous three fixtures.
Timao do not have the same firepower in attack as their opponents, and they will find it difficult to neutralize a side that look poised to move up the table in the Brasileiro Serie A.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
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 41.8%. A win for Cuiaba had a probability of 30.06% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Corinthians win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.31%) and 0-2 (8.08%). The likeliest Cuiaba win was 1-0 (10.35%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.12%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Corinthians would win this match.
