Internacional will put its unbeaten record at home versus America Mineiro on the line when the two teams meet for the first time in the 2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A campaign at Estadio Beira-Rio on Monday.
Colorado have won three of their previous four home fixtures in all competitions, while America are winless in their last seven competitive road contests.
Match preview
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All it took was an early goal and the realisation that there is no tomorrow for Internacional to save their Copa Sudamericana campaign, as they scored four unanswered goals in the second leg of that Round of 16 clash on Tuesday, defeating Colo-Colo 4-1 and advancing to the quarter-finals 4-3 on aggregate.
Mano Menezes has seen his side regularly produce that kind of quality in the attacking third at home, scoring multiple goals in their previous eight matches played in Porto Alegre.
His side have tallied the third-most goals so far in this domestic campaign (22) thanks to some timely contributions across the board, with five players scoring multiple goals, while three individuals who have not scored domestically have put up at least one assist.
In their previous three matches, they have found themselves behind within the opening 20 minutes, though they have managed to find an answer in two of those encounters.
While they sit four points back of the league leaders Palmeiras heading into matchday 16, Internacional are playing much more to their capabilities so far in 2022.
They already have two more wins than at this stage last season, achieving a seven-point improvement domestically from where they were after week 15 in 2021.
In four previous meetings against America in the Brasileiro Serie A, Mineiro Clube do Povo have triumphed every time, outscoring them 12-4 over that stretch.
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The Jekyll and Hyde season for Coelho followed another familiar trend last weekend, as the club from Belo Horizonte blanked Goias 1-0.
At home, Vagner Mancini can have no complaints about their technical abilities on the back end, having now gone three straight matches in all competitions without conceding.
On the opposite side, his players have not been able to unlock opposing defences on the road, without a goal in their last three domestic encounters.
They seem to struggle when it comes to creating any kind of flow in their build-up, often operating in the low 70 to high 60% range in pass accuracy, which can partly explain why they have found it challenging to score away from home.
Their traditional 4-1-4-1 formation has made it easier for the back four to make crucial interceptions in their own penalty area, conceding a goal or fewer in five of their last six domestic outings in all competitions.
Despite the many attacking options which that system usually provides, America have not had anyone dependable enough to finish off their build-ups consistently, scoring the second-fewest goals (12) to this point of the domestic campaign.
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Team News
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Goals from Alan Patrick, Edenilson, Alexandre Zurawski and Pedro Henrique helped them erase a three-goal deficit to move on in the Copa Sudamericana, while Moises had their only tally in their previous domestic fixture that ended in a 1-1 draw against Ceara, and Daniel collected his fourth clean sheet of the campaign when he stopped four Coritiba shots in a 3-0 win.
Wanderson leads them in goals domestically this season, tallying four times, while four players are tied for first when it comes to assists as Alan Patrick, David, Carlos De Pena and Fabricio Bustos all have two.
Matheus Cadorini will be suspended for this encounter after receiving a straight red card late in their match versus Ceara, while Rene and Wanderson are out with thigh issues, Bruno Gomes has a dislocated elbow and Gabriel Boschilia has a knee injury.
Henrique Almeida picked up his first goal of the season last Sunday for America in a 1-0 win over Goias as Pedrinho collected his first assist of the season and Matheus Cavichioli made three stops for his second successive shutout in all competitions.
Iago Maidana has three goals for them this season to lead the way in that department, while Everaldo is the only one on the team with multiple assists at two, and Aloisio was the last player to find the back of the net for them on the road when they drew a 1-1 against Corinthians at the end of May.
Maidana is nursing a broken foot, which will keep him sidelined until early August, while Orlando Berrio is not expected back until mid-July due to a knee injury.
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Heitor, Rocha, Mercado, Moises; Edenilson, Gabriel, Cardoso; Henrique, Patrick; Zurawski
America Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Cavichioli; Caceres, Luan, Eder, Marlon; Kal; Azevedo, Ale, Juninho, Pedrinho; Paulista
We say: Internacional 3-0 America Mineiro
The statistics speak for themselves, and they tell us that Coelho do not possess nearly as much quality to stay with a side of such high quality, as Internacional are masters at finding those little pockets of space on their home field, and they seem to have an appetite for scoring in front of their fans.
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Top tip
Joel Lefevre
