A pair of Brazilian sides in early relegation danger will square off on matchday 13 of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A campaign as Goias welcome Coritiba to Estadio Haile Pinheiro on Monday.
Esmeraldino are currently in the first relegation position, a point behind Cuiaba following a 2-0 defeat at Bragantino, while Coxa sit dead last with just four points, falling 5-1 to Gremio last weekend.
Match preview
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A season removed from earning a spot at the Copa Sudamericana, the sophomore top-flight campaign at Goias has begun under less-than-ideal circumstances.
It started with a 2-0 defeat at Athletico Paranaense and has not got much better since then, claiming 11 points after a dozen domestic outings, three fewer than they had at this same stage in 2022.
Seven of their 11 points this season have come on home soil, while Verdao have not lost a top-flight encounter against Coritiba at Estadio Haile Pinheiro since 2015.
Armando Evangelista has inherited a squad that had only captured one of their last five league fixtures before he took charge, and in his opening match as manager last Sunday, Goias were uninspiring, failing to register a shot on target with only 39% possession versus Bragantino.
They only managed to fire three efforts on target in their Sudamericana clash against Sante Fe, but two of those shots went in, enabling them to win 2-1 as they went unbeaten in the group stage, while finishing first and advancing into the next round.
Next week Goias will discover two potential round of 16 opponents at that tournament, though their next Sudamericana match will not take place until early August, meaning Evangelista will have plenty of time to focus on this competition and help his team climb out of their current deficit.
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Coritiba have already undergone a pair of managerial changes this season, yet the club from Parana are still searching for their first triumph of the 2023 Brasileiro Serie A campaign.
Glorioso found themselves even with current title contenders Gremio at the half last weekend before falling apart in the final 45 minutes, conceding four goals in a 5-1 defeat, as they have now conceded three or more times in half of their domestic fixtures this year (6/12).
It will be up to Thiago Kosloski to try to turn their fortunes around for the moment, with the caretaker manager having previously served as an assistant at Chapecoense last year before taking charge of the Coritiba Under-20 team.
Coxa have only managed to collect one point away from home during this domestic campaign, while conceding 18 of their 26 Serie A goals this year on the road.
At the moment, Glorioso are a long way off from where they were at this stage of the 2022 campaign, registering 11 more points after 12 games last season and claiming four more victories.
As a team, they have dropped 10 points domestically this year when scoring the opening goal and have been in a winning position heading into the second half three times.
Team News
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Diego Goncalves was back in the Goias lineup on Wednesday, having previously missed time with a back issue, while Vinicius could soon be fully recovered from his groin injury.
Guilherme Marques scored 24 minutes into their Sudamericana clash this week though Matheusinho was the hero, notching the winner in the 95th minute.
The last time they faced Coritiba in this competition, former striker Pedro Raul netted 10 minutes from the end while Tadeu made three saves for the clean sheet.
Coritiba captain Willian Farias missed another encounter last weekend due to a pulled muscle, Liziero is not expected to return until early August with a knee injury, while Bruno Gomes will be suspended after receiving a straight red card in stoppage time against Gremio.
Alef Manga notched his second of the season last weekend, putting him one back of Robson for the team lead, while Gabriel has now conceded eight goals in his previous two domestic road contests.
Manga was on the scoresheet the last time they defeated Goias in a competitive fixture, as was Andrey and former striker Leo Gamalho when Coritiba claimed a 3-0 victory at home in April 2022.
Goias possible starting lineup:
Tadeu; Maguinho, Halter, Melo, Sander; Apodi, Marques, Ze Ricardo, Hugo; Peixoto, Alesson
Coritiba possible starting lineup:
Gabriel; Pedroso, Kuscevic, Henrique; Bianqui; Natanael, Jamerson, Boschilia, Moreno; Ze Roberto, Manga
We say: Goias 2-0 Coritiba
Perhaps a new coach will eventually steer Coritiba back on course, but there is no evidence to suggest that will occur in this upcoming match, as this team have looked overwhelmed and intimidated when playing in enemy territory.
Goias have not been much better, but they have at least kept most of their league fixtures close this year, which is why we are leaning towards them to emerge from this contest with three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
