Having shot up to fifth in the Serie A standings, Flamengo will put their seven-match winning run on the line against Internacional on Sunday, at the Maracana.
After a difficult spell in which they crashed out of continental competition and picked up just one Campeonato Brasileiro point from a possible six, the 15th-placed visitors will hope to upset the odds in Rio de Janeiro.
Match preview
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After winning the title last season, Rio giants Flamengo suffered a disappointing start to the 2021 campaign - losing four of their first eight games - but have since motored on towards the summit of Brazil's top flight.
The dismissal of Rogerio Ceni as manager - to be replaced by former player Renato Gaucho - sparked a rapid turnaround in fortunes for the Rubo-Negro, and they have been upwardly mobile for the past couple of months. Seeking a third successive national championship, they are back in the mix at the top of the table, and Gaucho has won each and every one of his games to date.
Flamengo's two most recent victories, over the course of the last week, saw Gaucho's side comfortably beat Corinthians away, before sealing progress in the Copa do Brasil with a 7-0 aggregate win versus ABC. Hot on the heels of overcoming Argentina's Defensa y Justicia in the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores, they are now in red-hot form.
The former Fluminense coach's next task is keeping their title defence on track while going deep into both the Copa do Brasil and the Libertadores - which resumes next week, with Flamengo meeting Paraguayan outfit Olimpia at the quarter-final stage.
With goals starting to flow freely - an attack led by star man Bruno Henrique has scored three or more times in five of their last six outings - they will certainly prove fearsome opponents for a side that have struggled to find the net with any frequency.
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Now without a win in three games - plus having scored just once during that time - Internacional are again treading water in the Campeonato Brasileiro and have been knocked out of South America's biggest club competition.
At their Estadio Beira-Rio headquarters last weekend, they were unable to much improve a disappointing home record, as the Porto Alegre-based outfit were held to a goalless draw by modest Cuiaba, who sit just below them in the table. In fact, Diego Aguirre's side have earned only six points as hosts this season, so a trip to Rio this Sunday may even come as a welcome relief from their failure to fire at home.
Eliminated from the Copa Libertadores on penalties by Flamengo's next continental opponents Olimpia, and still toiling at the wrong end of the league, the pressure is already on Aguirre to deliver some relief.
Once in charge of the club for a short spell some six years ago, the Uruguayan coach recently returned to the Inter dugout following Miguel Angel Ramirez's dismissal, but has yet to turn things around - and as they finished close runners-up to Flamengo last season, expectations remain high.
Now, at least, they can focus all their efforts solely on the Brasileiro, so surely Aguirre will target a quickfire series of wins to boost Inter's ranking and his own hopes of longer-term survival.
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Team News
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Flamengo are flying at the moment, so Renato Gaucho will be loath to make many changes, even with the upcoming return to Copa Libertadores action at the back of his mind.
His talent-packed forward line should again comprise Gabriel Barbosa, Bruno Henrique, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Everton Ribeiro, with veteran schemer Diego pulling the strings from midfield.
Cesar, Rene and Paraguayan midfielder Robert Piris are all expected to miss out through injury though, and Rodrigo Caio is also a major doubt.
Meanwhile, goal-shy Internacional's attacking problems show some signs of abating, as experienced centre-forward Paolo Guerrero has recently returned from a knee injury, while both Yuri Alberto and alternative option Thiago Galhardo are available after serving suspensions for accumulated bookings.
However, defender Ze Gabriel is ruled out again with a thigh problem and Moises must serve a one-match ban following his red card against Cuiaba, so a change will be made at left-back.
Flamengo possible starting lineup:
Alves; Matheuzinho, G. Henrique, Caio, Luis; Arao, Diego; Ribeiro, De Arrascaeta, B. Henrique; Barbosa
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Daniel; Heitor, Mendez, Cuesta, Saravia; Cardoso, Edenilson; Palacios, Taison, Patrick; Guerrero
We say: Flamengo 3-1 Internacional
Now they have hit a rich seam of form, the goals will not stop flowing for Flamengo, as their star-studded front line shreds defences across the land.
Inter have proven a rather flaky prospect this term so will not be able to resist for long, and their winless streak is set to be extended to a fourth game following a chastening away defeat.
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 Flamengo win with a probability of 64.97%. A draw had a probability of 19.4% and a win for Internacional had a probability of 15.67%.
The most likely scoreline for a Flamengo win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.09%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.87%) and 1-0 (9.22%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.01%), while for a Internacional win it was 1-2 (4.4%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 0.2% likelihood.
