Juventude begin a stretch of three matches in less than a week when they host Fluminense on Sunday in the ninth match of the 2022 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A season for both sides.
In this domestic campaign, the club from Caxias do Sul in Southern Brazil are winless at home, currently a point below the relegation zone, while Flu failed to hang onto an early one-goal lead at home Flamengo last week, losing 2-1.
Match preview
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In the early stages of 2022, Juventude seem to have found themselves chasing numerous games, which has forced them to abandon their game plans.
They have conceded first in five of their league fixtures so far this year, scoring only once in the opening 45 minutes of a domestic encounter.
Finding the back of the net has been a problem for them, tallying the third-fewest goals among the top-flight sides in Brazil (eight) to this point, with only three coming on their home ground at Estadio Alfredo Jaconi.
As a player years ago, Eduardo Baptista's father advised the centre-back to leave football because of his short temper.
Now the Juventude manager, Baptista might be having difficulty staying patient and calm the way this campaign is going, with his team conceding the most goals in the Brasileiro Serie A (14).
Despite their many struggles, there are some signs of improvement, ending last month with points in four of their five league contests.
Juventude have arguably played their best when hosting Tricolor, losing only once at home to them since 2003, posting clean sheets in 2021 (1-0) and 2007 (0-0).
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We have seen a mixture of good and bad from the club out of Laranjeiras in Rio de Janeiro through the early portion of this season.
They have not had too much trouble being quick out of the gate, scoring four opening goals within the first 20 minutes of play.
Fernando Diniz has been able to turn this group into more of a possession-based team, who are aggressive in the midfield and capable of winning balls in dangerous areas of the field.
The man often referred to as the "Brazilian Guardiola", has not seen his side always make the most out of their possession, however, with a goal or fewer in six of their eight league fixtures to date.
While getting by with stout and resolute defending has long been a trademark of Brasileiro Serie A sides, Diniz tends to have a more aggressive approach, focused on short passes while working the ball in the box.
For those tactics to be effective consistently, there has to be some offensive contributions from the backline, namely the fullbacks, and we have yet to see that enough from Flu this year as Manoel is their only defender with a point thus far, notching one assist.
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Team News
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Guilherme Parede remains sidelined with a cruciate ligament rupture, while Yuri will face Fluminense for the first time after being loaned to Juventude from Flu for the season.
Busanello has been a solid provider in the early portion of the campaign, third in the league with two assists, while Oscar Ruiz leads them with three goals so far and Vitor Gabriel notched the equaliser in their draw (1-1) against Fortaleza last Saturday.
Romulo, Chico, Paulo Henrique and Bruninho all returned to the starting 11 last weekend, in place of Rodrigo Soares, Jadson, Parede and Ruiz.
David Braz will be suspended for Fluminense coming into this encounter after he and Rodinei from Flamengo were sent off in injury time a week ago.
German Cano notched his team-leading fourth of the campaign in a losing effort, putting him one behind Hulk and Erison for second in the league, while Fabio has three clean sheets.
At times, this team have shown that they can score a lot, beating Oriente Petrolero in their final group game at the Copa Sudamericana late last month as Cano and Matheus Martins each had hat-tricks, with the other tallies coming from Jhon Arias, Caio Paulista, Manoel and Willian.
Juventude possible starting lineup:
Cesar; W. Matheus, Moraes, Mendes, Soares; Chico, Jean, Yuri, Romulo; Bueno, Ruiz
Fluminense possible starting lineup:
Fabio; Xavier, Manoel, Claro, Pineida; Henrique Ganso, Wellington, Andre; Felipe; Cano, Willian
We say: Juventude 0-1 Fluminense
Juventude make it too easy for opposing teams to transition through the middle of the field, allowing their fair share of scoring chances in the process.
Fluzao are not the most dynamic of squads, but they should have enough experience and potency to bury at least one of the many opportunities we anticipate they will have.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
