Athletico Paranaense and Corinthians will square off at the Arena da Baixada on Saturday in the 12th round of Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A fixtures this season.
The hosts now sit ninth on 16 points after a defeat to Sao Paulo in midweek, while their visitors climbed up to 14th spot and within four points of their opponents with an important return to winning ways in their last outing.
Match preview
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Following their sixth-placed finish in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A table last season, Athletico Paranaense enjoyed a positive start to the new term, winning four of their opening six league games and only suffering defeats to Fluminense and Atletico Mineiro to sit on 12 points.
Paulo Turra's side have been unable to sustain that form, though, having now added just four further points to their tally in five Brasileiro outings since, firstly suffering back-to-back defeats at the hands of Bragantino and Gremio in late May.
Following those results and a penalty shootout win over Botafogo in the Copa do Brasil round-of-16 tie, after a 1-0 away defeat on the day, the Rubro-Negro returned to winning ways in Brazil's top flight with a 1-0 triumph in another meeting with league leaders Botafogo, thanks to Alex Santana's goal on the stroke of half time.
That was followed by another 1-0 victory over Libertad in the Copa Libertadores group stage, keeping Turra's men at the top of their group heading into the final game, but they now head into Saturday's contest on the back of consecutive disappointing results, firstly being held to a 2-2 draw away at America Mineiro, despite leading 2-0 through Vitor Roque and Christian, as Danilo Avelar drew their hosts level in the 96th minute.
Now following a 2-1 defeat away at Sao Paulo, in which Roque again opened the scoring before Gabriel Neves and Luciano turned the game on its head, the Rubro-Negro find themselves ninth in the table with just a two-point lead over the three sides below them and a four-point lead over Saturday's visitors, and they will now be keen to stop their slide and make a return to winning ways on home turf.
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They meet a Corinthians side who will hope to continue a climb up the table after enduring a tough start to the new league campaign.
They did make a winning start in the Brasileiro against Cruzeiro but would then suffer back-to-back defeats, and the return of Vanderlei Luxemburgo as manager at the beginning of May did not kickstart a positive run, as their wait for a victory was stretched to six games by two draws and two defeats.
The Timao would then stop the rot with an important 2-0 triumph over Fluminense at the end of May, but after also beating Atletico Mineiro in a penalty shootout in their Copa do Brasil round-of-16 tie, Luxemburgo's side would again suffer consecutive losses, falling at the hands of America Mineiro and Independiente del Valle in the Brazilian top flight and the Copa Libertadores group stage respectively.
Aiming to bounce back from those results and move clear of the bottom end of the league table, Corinthians then hosted Cuiaba but were only able to take an underwhelming point from a 1-1 draw thanks to Ruan Oliveira's 81st-minute equaliser, before they most recently travelled to Santos and added an important notch to their wins column, eventually triumphing 2-0 thanks to goals from Yuri Alberto and Oliveira.
Such a result means that, after their disappointing start, the Timao do at least have a four-point lead over the bottom four at this early stage of the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A season, and they will now turn their focus upwards and bid to quickly climb the division with an improved run of form on the back of their recent victory.
Team News
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Athletico Paranaense's attack will again be spearheaded by 18-year-old Vitor Roque, who has already contributed five goals and two assists in 11 appearances in the Brazilian top flight this season, with only one player in the division having notched up more at this stage.
He will again have support from the likes of Christian, who has chipped in with three goals in his nine league appearances thus far, while David Terans and Willian are both fighting to come into the attacking line from the outset.
With veteran midfielder and former Manchester City captain Fernandinho still sidelined by an injury, Alex Santana and Hugo Moura could again partner up in midfield, while Thiago Heleno and Pedro Henrique will likely line up in the middle of a back four.
Corinthians have a danger man of their own in attack, with Roger Guedes having also hit the net five times in the league so far this season, and he will look to break a three-game goal drought on Saturday.
He will lend support to striker Yuri Alberto, who should lead the line with renewed confidence following his second of the term last time out, after he notched up eight in just 20 Brasileiro appearances last time around.
In the absence of Murillo on Thursday, Caetano came into the middle of the defence to join mainstay Gil, and they should continue their partnership after seeing out a clean sheet in the 2-0 triumph, while Roni will again play an important role at the base of the Timao midfield.
Athletico Paranaense possible starting lineup:
Bento; Madson, Heleno, Henrique, Fernando; Santana, Moura; Terans, Bueno, Christian; Roque
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Fagner, Gil, Caetano, Bidu; Roni; Biro, Oliveira, Maycon, Guedes; Alberto
We say: Athletico Paranaense 1-2 Corinthians
The visitors should have a degree of renewed confidence in their ranks after the return to winning ways last time out, and while the Rubro-Negro will cause them problems, they appear to be on somewhat of a downward curve, and we fancy Luxemburgo's side to come away with all three points.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
