Palmeiras will be looking to close the gap at the top of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table when they travel to Sport Recife on Sunday.
The hosts have claimed five points from their last three matches on home soil, while the visitors have won four of their previous five league games, scoring 11 goals in the process.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sport Recife played out their second successive goalless stalemate when they drew a blank away at Santos on Thursday.
In a game which saw Santos dominate with 68% possession, Recife were able to frustrate the hosts and reduced them to just one shot on target. The best chance of the game did fall to Santos when Kaio Jorge hit the underside of the crossbar, with goalkeeper Mailson scrambling back to keep the ball out of the net.
Both sides were eventually forced to share the spoils, which means Recife remain in 15th place, just one point above the relegation zone.
Umberto Louzer's men have struggled to score goals so far this campaign, finding the net just four times in their opening eight matches, the joint-lowest in the division.
Recife also failed to score in their last meeting with Palmeiras, losing 1-0 in January. A victory on Saturday could help begin an upturn in form, but they can only move up one place to 14th if they were to claim all three points.
© Reuters
Palmeiras claimed their fourth league win in five games after securing a narrow 2-1 victory away at Internacional on Wednesday.
Abel Ferreira's men took the lead just nine minutes in when Deyverson instinctively tapped the ball into the net after Raphael Veiga fired a strike towards goal. The visitors held onto their lead until the 65th minute when Edenilson converted from the penalty spot, after Benjamin Kuscevic was dismissed for pushing Caio Vidal inside the area.
Internacional rarely created any clear-cut chances after their equaliser and failed to take advantage of the extra man, eventually conceding in the 89th minute when Danilo's tap-in looped over goalkeeper Daniel.
Palmeiras remain in third place and have consolidated their top-four status, sitting three points clear of Atletico Mineiro in fifth. They are also just two points behind league leaders Bragantino, who are the only side yet to lose in this season's Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.
Ferriera's men have been impressive going forward, scoring 15 goals in ther opening eight matches and only Bragantino have scored more. However, they have looked vulnerable defensively, conceding 10 times; only Bahia have conceded more goals so far this campaign among teams currently positioned in the top 13.
Palmeiras have won each of their last four league visits to Sport Recife and another victory on Sunday could see them climb to the summit.
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Sport Recife remain without defender Sander who has a foot injury, while Joao Igor and Leandro Barcia are unavailable with knee problems.
Louzer switched from a back five to a four-man defence for both of his last two matches and he is set to stick with this system on Sunday.
Centre-backs Rafael Thyere and Sabino could remain in defence along with full-backs Hayner and Junior Tavares, with central midfielders Marcao and Thiago Lopes to sit just in front of the defence.
Forwards Santiago Trellez and Mikael will be hoping they can force their way into the first XI ahead of Andre, who has scored just once so far this campaign.
As for Palmeiras, their only injury concern is with forward Gabriel Veron, who is suffering with a thigh problem.
With Kuscevic suspended, either Felipe Melo or Renan is expected to fill in at centre-back alongside Luan in the back four.
Veiga, Gustavo Scarpa and Breno Lopes could all keep their places in attacking midfield roles in behind lone striker Deyverson, who is set to start once again ahead of Luiz Adriano.
Sport Recife possible starting lineup:
Mailson; Hayner, Thyere, Sabino, Junior; Marcao, Welison; Neilton, Neves, Everaldo; Andre
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Jailson; Rocha, Luan, Renan, Luis; Menino, Danilo; Scarpa, Veiga, Lopes; Deyverson
We say: Sport Recife 0-2 Palmeiras
The two sides head into this fixture in contrasting form, with the visitors strong favourites to claim all three points. We feel that Palmeiras will be too strong for the hosts and have the firepower to secure a comfortable victory on Sunday.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
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 Palmeiras win with a probability of 44.65%. A draw had a probability of 28.1% and a win for Sport Recife had a probability of 27.22%.
The most likely scoreline for a Palmeiras win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.91%) and 1-2 (8.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (13%), while for a Sport Recife win it was 1-0 (9.98%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 13.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Palmeiras in this match.
