Seeking to snap their run of six consecutive defeats, Fluminense play host to Internacional at the Maracana Stadium in round 14 of the Brasileiro Serie A on Thursday.
The Colorado will head into the midweek clash looking to get one over the home side, having failed to win any of their last four encounters since August 2022.
Match preview
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With exactly a third of the 2024 Serie A campaign played, Fluminense find themselves in unfamiliar waters as they currently sit rooted to the bottom of the league table with just six points from 13 matches.
Mano Menezes's men failed to stop the rot at the weekend as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Gremio when the sides squared off at the Estadio Francisco Stedile.
In a game where Jan Franc Lucumi received his marching orders, teenage midfielder Gustavo Nunes came up clutch for the home side as he struck one minute after the hour-mark to hand them their first win in seven matches.
Fluminense have now lost six games on the bounce and have failed to win their last 10 league matches, claiming just two points from a possible 30 since scraping a 2-1 victory over Vasco da Gama back in April.
This dire run of results has been owing to their struggles at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have failed to find the back of the net in four consecutive games, and have netted just 10 league goals this season — the third-fewest number of goals scored so far.
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Internacional, on the other hand, failed to return to winning ways last weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Criciuma when the two sides met at the Estadio Heriberto Hulse.
Bruno Henrique broke the deadlock five minutes before the half-time break to put the visitors in front but 23-year-old defender Claudinho restored parity with a 79th-minute effort to force a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Eduardo Coudet's men saw their run of two back-to-back wins come to an end on June 27, when they fell to a 2-1 home loss at the hands of Atletico Mineiro courtesy of second-half goals from Cadu and Romulo.
Internacional have picked up five wins and three draws from 11 Serie A matches to collect 18 points and sit 10th in the league table, level on points with 11th-placed Atletico Mineiro.
While victory on Thursday could see the Colorado move level with sixth-placed Sao Paulo, they will have to get past a Fluminense side whom they have failed to get the better of in their last four meetings, losing twice and claiming two draws since a 3-0 victory in August 2022.
Team News
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Fluminense will take to the pitch without Colombian forward Lucumi, who is currently suspended after picking up a red card against Gremio last weekend.
On the injury front, Menezes will be unable to name Manoel (thigh), Felipe Melo (knee), Vinicius Lima (muscle) and Marquinhos (thigh), who continue their spells on the sidelines.
Twenty-year-old striker Isaac has missed each of the last four matches since coming off injured against Atletico Goianiense on June 16 and will play no part in Thursday's game.
Andre Trindade has been sidelined since April through a knee injury while fellow midfielder Jhon Arias is on duty with the Colombia national team at the ongoing Copa America.
Internacional will have to cope without the trio of Rafael Borre (Colombia), Enner Valencia (Ecuador) and goalkeeper Sergio Rochet (Uruguay), who are away at the Copa America.
Bruno Gomes and 27-year-old goalkeeper Ivan are currently recuperating from ankle and knee injuries respectively while full-back Fabricio Bustos has been ruled out through a back injury.
Lucca has missed each of the last five matches since sustaining a thigh injury versus Sao Paulo on June 14 and the 21-year-old striker is also out of contention for the Colorado.
Fluminense possible starting lineup:
Fabio; Xavier, Marlon, Carlos, Marcelo; Santos, Martinelli, Pires; Terans, Cano, Keno
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Fabricio; Gomes, Vitao, Fernando, Rene; Romulo, Maia, Henrique, Patrick; Drummond, Wanderson
We say: Fluminense 1-2 Internacional
Internacional head into Thursday's game as favourites to secure the desired result as they take on an out-of-sorts Fluminense side who have lost their last six matches. The Colorado have been solid on their travels this year and we fancy them to come away with a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
