Fortaleza can reclaim first place in the Brasileiro Serie A table with a victory on Wednesday versus Internacional at Estadio Jose Pinheiro Borda.
Leao do Pici are two points behind Botafogo for the league lead after suffering a 2-0 defeat against them in their previous outing, while Colorado are 10th following a 3-1 triumph over Juventude.
Match preview
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After a 10-day layoff, Internacional return to action in the Brazilian top flight, keen to build on a three-match unbeaten run in this competition.
Roger Machado's men are undefeated in their last five competitive fixtures at home, winning their previous two encounters at Estadio Jose Pinheiro Borda by a single goal.
Throughout the 2024 Brasileiro Serie A campaign, this side have been consistently sharp on the back end, conceding the joint-fewest goals in the league thus far (19).
Internacional have not lost a domestic contest all year when netting multiple times, winning their last two such encounters when doing so.
This team have collected 32 points after 22 top-flight matchdays, six fewer than they managed at this same stage of the previous domestic campaign.
They have won three of their previous four home matches in this competition against Fortaleza, with the last one coming on matchday two of the 2022 season.
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Leading the league by a single point heading into their previous encounter, Fortaleza looked flat against Botafogo, registering just one effort on target throughout the 90 minutes.
Eventually, Fogo made them pay, scoring twice in the final 17 minutes to bump them back down to second place, though Juan Pablo Vojvoda's men have a game in hand.
That defeat ended a 12-match unbeaten run for them across all competitions as they suffered their first defeat in league play since early July (2-0 to Vasco da Gama).
The club from Ceara have suffered the fewest defeats in the Brasileiro Serie A this year, failing to score in all four of their losses in this competition.
They have won 11 successive encounters in this competition when scoring the opening goal, with their most recent one being a 1-0 triumph over Corinthians in late August.
Fortaleza have points in three successive league fixtures versus Internacional, winning their previous away contest against them a season ago (1-0).
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Team News
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In their victory over Juventude, the last time out, Internacional were without Ivan, who is recovering from knee surgery, Wanderson has a calf strain, Lucca is dealing with some sore muscles and Wesley will be suspended.
Because of the international window, they may not have Enner Valencia available, as he was called up to the Ecuador squad, Rafael Borre was named to the Colombian team and Sergio Rochet is with the Uruguay national team.
Borre had the opening goal in their previous league contest, with the other strikes coming courtesy of Gabriel Carvalho and Alexandro Bernabei.
As for Fortaleza, Calebe is expected to miss this contest due to a muscle issue, Marinho has a thigh strain and Matheus Rossetto is doubtful with a calf injury.
From matchday 23 to 24, there were two changes made to their starting 11, with Bruno Pacheco and Moises replacing Felipe Jonatan and Yago Pikachu.
The last time they scored an away goal in this competition, it came courtesy of Tomas Pochettino and Breno Lopes in a 2-1 victory over Bragantino.
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Anthoni; B. Gomes, I. Gomes, Vitao, Bernabei; Romulo, Maia; Carvalho, Patrick, Tabata; Alario
Fortaleza possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Britez, Kuscevic, Cardona, Pacheco; Hercules, Sasha; Lopes, Pochettino, Pikachu; Lucero
We say: Internacional 0-1 Fortaleza
Fortaleza have been a relatively consistent side throughout the campaign, and they should benefit from Internacional missing some key additions through injury and the international window.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
