In a rematch from the 2023 Copa Sudamericana semi-finals, Fortaleza and Corinthians will square off a round earlier this year, with the opening leg of that tie occurring on Tuesday at Arena Castelao.
In the previous stage of this tournament, the club from Ceara defeated Rosario Central 3-1 to capture that tie 4-2 on aggregate, while Coringao were able to hold their nerve in a penalty shootout versus Bragantino to advance into the last eight.
Match preview
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Whatever Juan Pablo Vojvoda said to his side at half time of their second-leg tie with Rosario Central, the message was well received as Fortaleza came from behind to score three unanswered goals and advance into the next round of this competition.
That was the second time in their last three Copa Sudamericana fixtures this year that they had earned a result despite conceding the opening goal, putting them in the quarter-finals for a second successive campaign.
Since staving off elimination with that dramatic comeback, however, they have cooled down, winning just one of their previous four matches across all competitions.
As a result, they are four points behind Botafogo for first in the Brasileiro Serie A, squandering a 1-0 advantage on Saturday and playing to a 1-1 draw with Athletico Paranaense.
Fortaleza have victories in all four of their Copa Sudamericana home fixtures this year and are on a 13-match winning run at Arena Castelao across all competitions.
They have never lost to a Brazilian opponent in this competition, eliminating Corinthians in the 2023 semi-finals 3-1 on aggregate.
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Leading by two goals in the aggregate score against Bragantino, Corinthians failed to contain their opponents' attacking press, conceding twice but surviving the shootout.
It was only thanks to some heroic goalkeeping that they advanced, as Ramon Diaz saw his side miss two penalties, but three of Braga's were saved.
This will be the third time they feature in the last eight of this tournament in their previous four appearances, with Corinthians advancing beyond this stage on those three occasions.
They have lost three consecutive away matches in all competitions by a single goal, with their last win as the visitors occurring in the opening leg of their tie with Bragantino last month (2-1).
Before their second leg fixture with the Red Bull club in the last 16, this team had never lost a 2024 Sudamericana contest in normal time when scoring first, something they have done in every one of their matches at the tournament this year.
Timao have never won a Sudamericana quarter-final fixture away from home after 90 minutes, losing 1-0 at Estudiantes at this stage a year ago but managing to advance on penalties (3-2).
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Team News
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For this opening match Fortaleza may not have Matheus Rossetto available as he is recovering from a calf strain, while Bruno Pacheco has an unknown injury.
Second-half strikes by Juan Martin Lucero, Yago Pikachu and Lucas Sasha enabled them to stave off elimination in their previous Sudamericana encounter.
On the opposite side, Corinthians could be missing Ruan Oliveira due to an ACL injury, Alex Santana is not expected to return from his thigh issue until early November and Memphis Depay is seeking his first appearance for his new club, sitting out of the past few matches with physical discomfort.
A 24th-minute strike from Rodrigo Garro put Corinthians in the lead in their second-leg round of 16 fixture, but it was Hugo Souza who rescued them with three penalty saves in the shootout, cancelling out the misses by his teammates Andre Ramalho and Ryan, who each blasted their efforts over the bar.
Fortaleza possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Tinga, Kuscevic, Cardona, Jonatan; Welison, Hercules; Pikachu, Pochettino, Lopes; Lucero
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Souza; Ramalho, G. Henrique, Caca; Fagner, Bidon, Ryan, Coronado, Bidu; Garro, Giovane
We say: Fortaleza 1-0 Corinthians
Neither side have been particularly sharp since advancing from the last 16 of this tournament, but all season long, Fortaleza have found a way to win at home, and that belief could go a long way to another triumph on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
