Atletico Goianiense begin their Copa do Brasil round of 16 tie on Wednesday when they host Goias at Atletico Clube Goianiense Stadium in the opening leg.
It will be a third successive appearance for Dragao in the knockout stage of this tournament after losing out in 2020 and 2021, while Esmeraldino have made the fourth round of this tournament for the first time since 2018.
Match preview
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Making it back to this point of the competition was no easy task for Goianiense, who had to keep their nerve against Cuiaba, winning 5-3 on penalties after the two legs ended in an aggregate score of 1-1.
Advancing past this point has proven to be a difficult hurdle for them to overcome, as they have not made the quarter-finals of the Copa do Brasil since 2010.
Part of the reason they have struggled to make it into the last eight has been due to some poor starts, failing to win an opening fixture in the round of 16 in over a decade.
Under the guidance of Jorginho, the club from Goiana have won four of their last six home fixtures, though one of those defeats came at the hands of Goias, 1-0 in a domestic encounter last month.
Throughout the league campaign, this team have struggled to close down their opponents in their penalty area, conceding the second-most goals (18) among Serie A sides.
One aspect of their game that could use improvement is being able to start matches quicker, as only one of their last five goals scored have come in the opening 45 minutes, and that was an own goal from Luan of Palmeiras.
It has been the opposite story for Goias so far in the Copa do Brasil as they have got off to some flying starts, scoring within the opening 15 minutes in two of their four matches.
That is a sharp contrast from what Jair Ventura has seen from his side domestically, as they have only tallied one first-half goal in their previous eight matches in all competitions.
While Verdao have not begun the way Ventura would have liked lately, they have shown their share of resilience and clawed their way back into numerous fixtures, picking up five points so far this month from losing positions heading into the second-half.
At the moment, Goias find themselves in the final relegation position, winning only one of their last seven league games, notching a goal or fewer in nine of their previous 10 encounters in all competitions.
It is safe to say that they know what it is like to play in close games, as their previous 14 encounters in all competitions were decided by a goal or fewer.
That includes their triumph versus Bragantino when they advanced on penalties 9-8 after the aggregate score was nodded at two.
At the moment, they are missing a solid link between the backline and the attack, as their midfielders have struggled to get the ball up the field effectively in transition.
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Team News
Leo only needed to save one penalty kick to send Atletico Goianiense into this tournament phase, as Marlon Freitas, Edson Fernando, Leo Pereira, Gabriel Baralhas and Airton all converted their spot-kicks against Cuiaba.
Airton, Pereira and Wellington Rato all scored over the weekend, while Ronaldo stopped two of the three shots he faced in a 3-1 victory over Juventude.
Shaylon and Wanderson are not expected to play in this encounter because of muscle injuries, while Dudu might not return until late June because of an ankle issue.
Goias keeper Tadeu played a massive role in their advancement into the round of 16, stopping six Braga penalties and scoring one himself, while Matheus Sales fired home the only goal in normal time, with Apodi tallying their lone strike in the first leg.
Pedro Raul has found the back of the net six times domestically this season, sitting in a tie for third in Serie A, while Elvis leads them in assists with two, and he notched the only goal in their 1-0 victory over Goianiense last month.
Sidimar and Hugo will be sidelined with knee problems until early July and late June, respectively, while Matheusinho and Luiz Filipe are finished for the season with ACL injuries.
Atletico Goianiense possible starting lineup:
Leo; Dudu, Noga, Menezes, Jefferson; Freitas, Rickson; Rato, Jorginho, Airton; Churin
Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Barcelos, Souto, Da Silva, Apodi; Elvis, Bastos, Auremir, Marguinho; Vinicius, Raul
We say: Atletico Goianiense 2-1 Goias
Goias have proven they can compete and keep games close, but aside from Pedro Raul, no one else has been all that potent for them in the final third, so we are giving Goianiense a slight edge because of their offensive depth.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
