Host nation Brazil will attempt to secure a place in the final at the World Cup when they take on Germany in their last-four clash in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday.

Luiz Felipe Scolari will be without Neymar, who has been their top scorer so far in this tournament, as he suffered a fractured vertebra during their quarter-final win over Colombia.

Brazil will also be missing their captain Thiago Silva after he picked up his second booking of the tournament, while Willian sustained a back injury during training, but insists that it will not stop him playing.

Meanwhile, Germany are still dealing with a bout of flu that has been working its way through the squad over the last week.

Defender Per Mertesacker missed training this weekend after coming down with the illness, while Bastian Schweinsteiger has been working away from his teammates.

However, Joachim Low has no players suspended and has reported no fresh injuries following their quarter-final win over France.

In the only previous World Cup meeting between these two sides, Brazil defeated Germany 2-0 to claim the 2002 title, while the Germans won a friendly between the pair in their most recent meeting in 2011.

Recent form

Brazil: WWDWDW

Germany: WWDWWW

Possible starting lineups

Brazil: Cesar, Maicon, Luiz, Alves, Marcelo, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Hulk, Oscar, Willian, Fred

Germany: Neuer, Howedes, Hummels, Lahm, Mertesacker, Khedira, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Ozil, Muller, Klose

Sports Mole says: 1-2

Written by
Sian Cowper

Previews by email