Botafogo will aim to further extend their lead at the top of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table on Sunday, when they welcome Bragantino to the Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santos.
On the back of five straight league victories, the hosts sit 10 points clear at the summit of the Brazilian top flight after 14 rounds of fixtures, while their visitors have climbed to sixth spot recently with a strong run of their own.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following their eye-catching start to the new season, Botafogo now find themselves under new management, having initially enjoyed their best-ever start to a top-flight campaign under the stewardship of Luis Castro, winning seven of their opening eight league outings to establish themselves at the summit of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table on 21 points.
After seeing their momentum halted slightly by a 1-0 defeat away at Athletico Paranaense, the Rio de Janeiro outfit quickly bounced back with three more victories on the bounce, getting past Fortaleza, Cuiaba and Palmeiras, without conceding a single goal, before they were shaken by the departure of Castro for Al-Nassr at the end of June.
Following that exit, Cacapa stepped up to lead Fogo on an interim basis, and they were not derailed, firstly beating Vasco da Gama 2-0 thanks to goals from Luis Henrique and Carlos Alberto, before making it five on the bounce with a victory over Gremio by the same scoreline in their last league outing, as Alberto was again on the scoresheet alongside Carlos Eduardo.
The club hierarchy would then turn to Bruno Lage to take charge earlier in July, and his tenure began with a trip to Patronato in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana round-of-32 tie on Wednesday, with Fogo scoring another 2-0 triumph to move into a strong position in the tie, courtesy of goals from Alberto and Janderson in the second half.
Now turning their attention back to the domestic top flight, Lage inherits a team who are 10 points clear at the summit having won 12 of their first 14 outings and are on the back of five consecutive league wins and clean sheets, and they will hope to extend that run with another triumph to further improve their position in the pursuit of a first Brasileirao title since 1995.
© Reuters
That will be no easy task, though, as the visitors arrive in fine form themselves, having also gone five league games unbeaten and suffered just two top-flight defeats so far this term.
Bragantino did not enjoy the best start to the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A season, as they managed just one win and seven points from their first six matches, but following four straight draws, they would then put back-to-back victories together in late May, beating Athletico Paranaense and Santos 2-0 each on home turf.
Momentum was again halted by a loss and a draw in two tough trips to Fluminense and Atletico Mineiro respectively, but beginning with the latter stalemate, Pedro Caixinha's side now head into the weekend in a five-match unbeaten run in the league, firstly returning to winning ways with a 4-0 thrashing of second-placed Flamengo thanks to a Henry Mosquera brace and goals from Eduardo Santos and Alerrandro.
The Massa Bruta would then put another pair of victories on the board to make it three in a row, firstly defeating Goias 2-0 before Eduardo Sasha hit the only goal in their trip to Corinthians at the beginning of July.
Now on the back of a goalless draw at home to Sao Paulo, taking their unbeaten streak to five top-flight matches, Bragantino will aim to take another major scalp on Sunday, with the chance to climb from their current spot in sixth up to as high as second place depending on other results.
Team News
© Reuters
Given the quick turnaround from their Copa Sudamericana game, Botafogo should revert to a similar starting XI to the one that featured against Gremio in their last league outing, and Tiquinho Soares is bound to come back in from the outset and lead the line, having netted a league-high tally of 10 goals in 13 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A games so far this season, while also contributing four assists.
That could see Janderson drop back to the bench, despite his goal on Wednesday, while Soares may again be supported by the trio of Junior Santos, Carlos Eduardo and Luis Henrique, albeit with Carlos Alberto also having a claim to keep his place on the wing after also scoring against Patronato.
Elsewhere, Marlon Freitas and Tche Tche should reform their partnership at the base of the midfield, while Victor Cuesta and Adryelson remain the preferred centre-back pairing in league action, having been relative mainstays in Brazil's top flight this year.
Bragantino will come into Sunday's game with a similar starting XI from their draw with Sao Paulo last weekend, and Eduardo Sasha should spearhead the attack in a 4-3-3 setup, having managed 11 goals and five assists in 20 appearances across league and Copa Sudamericana matches so far this term.
Caixinha could be forced into one change though, after defender Eduardo Santos was forced off in the 20th minute of that game with an injury concern, and Natan is expected to come in from the start alongside Luan Patrick if Santos is not deemed fit to start.
Lucas Evangelista remains a key man in midfield, and he should again start alongside Matheus Fernandes and Eric Ramires.
Botafogo possible starting lineup:
Perri; Di Placido, Cuesta, Adryelson, Hugo; Freitas, Tche; Santos, Eduardo, Henrique; Soares
Bragantino possible starting lineup:
Schwengber; Jadsom, Patrick, Natan, Capixaba; Evangelista, Fernandes, Ramires; Sorriso, Sasha, Vitinho
We say: Botafogo 2-0 Bragantino
Bragantino will travel with confidence from their positive form in recent weeks, but the hosts have been relentless so far this season and have not let up since the change in management.
We anticipate Fogo again coming out on top on home turf, having shone at both ends of the pitch this year.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
