Sao Paulo travel to Belo Horizonte this Sunday for their heavyweight Brasileiro clash against Atletico Mineiro at the Mineirao.
The Brazilian national side kicking off their Copa America title defence may well syphon interest away from this tie, but fans of these two sides could still be in for a real treat.
Match preview
© Reuters
Atletico Mineiro finished the last campaign in third place, just two points above their opposition this weekend, and new boss Cuca will be looking to do even better this season.
However, it has been a mixed bag so far for Atletico, who picked up their first points of the campaign last time out after losing their opening fixture to Fortaleza.
Galo beat Sport Recife 1-0, with Hulk scoring with his side's only shot on target.
As talented as he is, Hulk is currently the only Galo player who has found the back of the net in the league this season, and Cuca will expect more from his attackers as the season goes on.
© Reuters
After a solid Brasileiro campaign last season, Sao Paulo have started this season poorly, with just one point taken from their opening two games.
Currently 15th in the table, Sao Paulo were beaten 2-0 by Atletico Goianiense last weekend, meaning that Tricolor Paulista have not yet scored a goal this season.
Head coach Hernan Crespo, who made the move from Argentina's Defensa y Justicia, will be looking for more from his side if he is to build his reputation during his stint in Brazil.
With games against Chapecoense and Santos on the horizon, Sao Paulo will need to grind out results against tough opposition in order to work their way up the table.
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Galo will be without a number of important players ahead of this tie, and Cuca could ring the changes as a result of that.
Guga and Guilherme Arana are both away on international duty, while Rafael is out with a shoulder injury.
Sao Paulo will be without Igor Liziero who is away on international duty.
Other absentees for Crespo include Luan Santos, Martin Benitez, Dani Alves and Walce.
Atletico Mineiro possible starting lineup:
Everson; Mariano, Rabello, Rever, Dodo; Zaracho, Tche Tche, Allan, Fernandez, Hyoran; Hulk
Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Volpi; B Alves, Miranda, Leo; Vinicius, Shaylon, Nestor, Sara, Reinaldo; Rojas, Luciano
We say: Atletico Mineiro 1-1 Sao Paulo
This is a very difficult-to-call clash between two well-matched sides, and due to the poor form that both teams are in, we do not expect a lot from this one. We are going for a 1-1 stalemate.
Top tip
Francis Buchanan
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 Atletico Mineiro win with a probability of 48.06%. A win for Sao Paulo had a probability of 26.3% and a draw had a probability of 25.6%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Mineiro win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.29%) and 2-0 (8.79%). The likeliest Sao Paulo win was 0-1 (7.99%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Atletico Mineiro in this match.
