Looking to stretch their unbeaten run to six league outings, Sao Paulo will entertain Goias on Saturday.

The hosts currently sit 10th and just six points outside the top four in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table, while their newly-promoted visitors are four points worse off in 14th spot.

Match preview

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Sao Paulo may have somewhat mixed emotions about their Brasileiro campaign thus far, as they currently find themselves in mid-table despite suffering just three league defeats in 18 outings, having only managed five victories.

Rogerio Ceni's side put a nine-game unbeaten run together between April and June, but, with only three of those being victories, they still struggled to keep pace with the leading pack, before suffering back-to-back defeats against Botafogo and Palmeiras.

Following a stalemate with Juventude and a 2-1 win over Atletico Goianiense, thanks to a brace from Luciano, and progression through the Copa Sudamericana round-of-16 with a two-legged thrashing of Universidad Catolica, the Tricolor Paulista's run of frequent league draws has continued, with Ceni's men now sharing the points in each of their last three outings.

They firstly drew with Atletico Mineiro and Fluminense, either side of a penalty shootout triumph over Palmeiras in the Copa do Brasil round-of-16, before Luciano hit a second-half equaliser to salvage a point in an eventful contest against Internacional after Nikao twice drew them level in the first half.

While Sao Paulo should be relatively content with three draws against top-six sides heading into the weekend, they will now be keen to start turning more of those into victories, starting on Saturday with a result that would see them climb closer to the top four.

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They take on a Goias side hoping to increase their cushion over the relegation zone, having improved their position in the last month.

Following their promotion from the second tier last term, the Verdao endured a tough start, sitting around the bottom end of the table as they amassed 14 points from the opening 13 outings.

Jair Ventura's side then stopped a rot with a crucial 1-0 victory over Cuiaba, thanks to Pedro Raul's goal, before bouncing back from a defeat to America Mineiro by beating Athletico Paranaense 2-1, with Raul again on the scoresheet alongside Nicolas.

While that saw them move into a much stronger position in the fight for survival, the Verdao went on to draw with basement side Juventude before suffering a harmful 3-2 defeat at the hands of Fluminense last time out, despite looking set to triumph with a 2-1 win through Raul and Nicolas, as German Cano and Willian hit late goals to snatch all three points for their opponents.

Now sitting 14th with a three-point lead over the bottom four, Ventura's men will go in search of a sixth league win of the season to quickly climb through the middle of the table and strengthen their hopes of survival.

Team News

Sao Paulo will have the option of calling back on forward Jonathan Calleri on Saturday, after he served a suspension last time out, with the Argentinian having hit nine goals in 17 league appearances since his loan move from Maldonado.

He will have to fight for a place though, after Nikao hit a crucial brace in their draw with Internacional, while Luciano took his tally to seven top-flight goals for the season with the last equaliser in that game.

First-choice goalkeeper Jandrei missed the Internacional game through a back injury, and Thiago Couto should again deputise between the sticks in his absence.

Goias' line will be led by star man Pedro Raul, who has netted nine league goals so far this season.

He should be joined in attack from the outset by Nicolas, who came off the bench to score his third of the campaign last time out.

Exciting midfielder Elvis, who chipped in with three goals at the start of the league campaign, recently departed for Ponte Preta, leaving the likes of Dada Belmonte and Diego to play more important roles in supporting the front line.

Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Couto; Rafinha, Costa, Oliveira; Vinicius, Toledo, Neves, Patrick; Nikao; Luciano, Calleri

Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Maguinho, Caetano, Moraes, Savio; Diego, Dias, Sales, Belmonte; Nicolas, Raul

We say: Sao Paulo 2-1 Goias

Sao Paulo's issue has been turning draws into wins this season, but they should have enough firepower to get past Goias on home turf on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Sam Varley

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