After 36 league games, Ceara and America Mineiro enter Sunday's encounter with the same number of points and identical goal difference in the Campeonato Brasileiro table.
Both sides are looking to end the season well as they seek to secure a place in next season's Copa Libertadores.
Match preview
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Ceara are ending the season strong, having only lost twice in their last ten games and a positive run of results sees Sunday's hosts head into the weekend in ninth place.
Although, they did suffer a defeat away to Flamengo in midweek, which ended a four-game unbeaten run for Tiago Nunes's side.
In that encounter, Rick cancelled out Gabriel Barbosa's opener, but Flamengo claimed all three points when Matheuzinho scored the winner in the 79th minute.
Those results condemned Ceara to their seventh away defeat this season, and with only one win on their travels in the league this season, they will be relieved to return to home surroundings this weekend.
In fact, Nunes's side are looking to secure their fifth consecutive victory at Castelao, and after losing twice on home turf in the league this season, they have proved to be a tough away trip for the majority of teams.
America Mineiro will make the trip to face Ceara on Sunday, and the visitors will be confident after also suffering just two defeats in their last 10 games.
Their last two outings have brought about four points, which included a 1-1 draw against Bragantino last weekend, where Eduardo Bauermann saw his effort cancelled out by Artur to deny Coelho all three points.
They may have failed to win on that occasion, but they did emerge victorious in midweek when they swept aside Chapecoense.
Goals from Ademir and Fabricio put America Mineiro in the driving seat, before the former grabbed his second of the game after scoring from the spot to seal a comfortable 3-0 victory.
Ademir's brace took his tally for the Campeonato Brasileiro season to 11, and the forward will be the away side's main goal threat on Sunday.
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Team News
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Thigh problems mean Ceara will be without Vinicius and Erick on Sunday, while Wendson is also set to miss the encounter due to injury.
Gabriel Dias is also expected to be absent after missing the last two games with a knee issue.
Nunes may bring Jael back into the starting lineup, which could see Yony Gonzalez drop to the bench.
Meanwhile, America Mineiro are without the services of Orlando Berrio and Eduardo, with the pair unavailable due to injury issues.
Fabricio came into the starting lineup in midweek and after scoring he is expected to keep his place in the side.
In fact, Marquinhos Santos could name an unchanged lineup for Sunday's encounter.
Ceara possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Igor, Otavio, Messias, Pacheco; Fabinho, Sobral, Mendoza; Kelvyn, Lima, Jael
America Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Cavichioli; Patric, Silva, Bauermann, Marlon; Kal, Juninho, Ale; Ademir, Azevedo, Fabricio
We say: Ceara 1-1 America Mineiro
America Mineiro are unbeaten in their last eight meetings with Ceara, and given the fact that five of those meetings ended all square, we think that Sunday's encounter will finish level.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ceara win with a probability of 43.59%. A win for America Mineiro had a probability of 28.54% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Ceara win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.51%) and 2-0 (8.5%). The likeliest America Mineiro win was 0-1 (9.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
