On Saturday, Santos will welcome America Mineiro to Vila Belmiro, with just three points separating the two sides in the Campeonato Brasileiro.
The hosts enter the weekend a couple of places above the relegation zone in 15th place, while America Mineiro sit two places higher in 13th position.
Match preview
© Reuters
Santos are in a precarious position in the league table, having accumulated 29 points this term, which leaves them just a point above the relegation zone.
After 14 games Santos occupied eighth position, but 10 points from the following 12 fixtures has seen them drop down the standings.
Fabio Carille's side enter the fixture having collected just one victory in their last 12 league encounters, and their most recent fixture saw Santos play out a goalless draw away to Sport Recife.
Finding the net has been difficult of late, with their last 12 league games only yielding seven goals, and Santos have only scored two or more goals on one occasion in that period.
However, they can take positives from their home form after only suffering two league defeats at the Vila Belmiro, although three of their last five home league encounters have ended all square.
Like their opponents, America Mineiro will be looking over their shoulder, with four points separating themselves and the relegation zone.
Although, Saturday's visitors also harbour ambitions of finishing in the top 12, which would secure a Copa Sudamericana place.
America Mineiro enter the fixture winless in their last three games, but encouragingly they have only suffered one defeat in their last 10 league matches.
Marquinhos Santos's side responded to a 3-1 defeat to Internacional by picking up a point last weekend at home to Bahia, with the encounter finishing goalless.
Away victories have been hard to come by for America Mineiro, with only two league wins on the road this season, although six draws in their last eight away games suggest they are a difficult team to beat.
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Leo Baptistao missed the last game due to a calf injury, and the forward is still unavailable for Santos.
The hosts will be without Wagner Leonardo, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation, and that could mean that Carille brings Robson Reis into the backline.
Santos captain Carlos Sanchez returned from suspension to start the game against Sport Recife, and the midfielder will retain his place for the America Mineiro clash.
America Mineiro will be without Mauro Zarate and Orlando Berrio, who are out with thigh and knee problems respectively.
Eduardo is also still absent for the away side, with a broken foot keeping the defender out.
Ale returned from suspension to start the game against Bahia, and the 31-year-old will keep his place in the side for the weekend.
Santos possible starting lineup:
Jandrei; Boza, Velazquez, Reis; Guilherme, Camacho, Zanocelo, Braga; Sanchez, Marinho, Raniel
America Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Cavichioli; Patric; Silva, Bauermann, Marlon; Juninho, Kal, Ale; Ademir, Azevedo, Fabricio
We say: Santos 1-1 America Mineiro
With the teams so close in the table, this could be a cagey affair, but with draws being the story of America Mineiro's recent away fixtures, we think this contest will end all square.
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 Santos win with a probability of 44.7%. A draw had a probability of 28.4% and a win for America Mineiro had a probability of 26.95%.
The most likely scoreline for a Santos win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9%) and 2-1 (8.4%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (13.03%), while for an America Mineiro win it was 0-1 (10.1%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 4.7% likelihood.
