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Sao Paulo
Brasileiro | Gameweek 26
Oct 14, 2021 at 11pm UK
Estadio do Morumbi
Ceara

Sao Paulo
1 - 1
Ceara

Calleri (52')
Miranda (38'), Manuel Orejuela (48'), Calleri (61')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Fabinho (23')
Fabinho (36'), Richard (45+3'), Oliveira (86')

Preview: Sao Paulo vs. Ceara - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Brasileiro clash between Sao Paulo and Ceara, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Sao Paulo will be back in action on Thursday when they welcome Ceara to the Cicero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium as they attempt to get back to winning ways after five consecutive draws.

The visitors sit just one point below them in the Serie A league table and have failed to win in their previous two outings.


Match preview

Sao Paulo coach Hernan Crespo during the match on May 5, 2021© Reuters

Sao Paulo will be desperate to get three points on Thursday after drawing five games in a row, showcasing their consistency to gain points, but their lack of cutting edge to truly finish an opponent off.

Hernan Crespo's team are undefeated in six games, with a victory against Atletico Goianiense in September kickstarting this run, but with so many matches resulting in the points being split, the club finds themselves 13th in the league.

Goals have been hard to come by in this recent period for Sao Paulo, having failed to score in three of their previous five fixtures, including their most recent outing against Cuiaba.

They dominated the match with 66% of the possession, but Crespo's men were unable to convert all of that ball retention into a goal, and they only mustered two shots on target.

Because they are just seven points away from a place in the top six, there is still a lot to fight for in this campaign, with a place in either the Copa Sudamericana or Copa Libertadores still being possible for them.

Ceara's Vinicius Lima celebrates scoring their first goal on June 20, 2021© Reuters

However, Sao Paulo must be wary of the fact the visitors sit just one place behind them in the league table and a victory would allow Ceara to leapfrog them.

They are also not in the strongest form, having gone two games without a win after drawing with Internacional and then being comfortably beaten by Atletico Mineiro.

They faced the current table-toppers on Saturday and they were blown away by a first-half brace from Hulk, with a second-half goal courtesy of Diego Costa putting the game to bed, despite a late finish from Gabriel Lacerda.

When these two teams faced each other earlier in the season, the spoils were shared as they battled out a 1-1 draw, despite Ceara taking the lead in the first half via Jorginho, as an own goal would bring Sao Paulo back into the game.

A point each would not be the worst possible result for either club at the moment - however, if they stand any chance of progressing up the table, the two teams will need a lot more.

Sao Paulo Brasileiro form:
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • D

Sao Paulo form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • D
  • D

Ceara Brasileiro form:
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • L

Ceara form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • L



Team News

Defensa y Justicia coach Hernan Crespo before the match on January 23, 2021© Reuters

Crespo will be looking for more from his attacking options in this fixture, with his team struggling to find the back of the net as of late, which could see him make a few changes.

The likes of Joao Rojas and Martin Benitez could be used from the start after being brought off the bench against Cuiaba, while Jonathan Calleri will likely lead the attack.

Both William Klaus (muscle) and Buiu (knee) had to miss the recent defeat against Atletico Mineiro, and the same back four will likely be named in midweek for the visitors.

Vitor Jacare also remains unavailable due to a cruciate ligament injury that has kept him out for the entire season so far, but Ceara might switch things up in the attack, with Stiven Mendoza being an option.

Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Volpi; Gomes, Miranda, Leo, Welington; Santos, Nestor; Benitez, Luciano, Rigoni; Calleri

Ceara possible starting lineup:
Richard; Oliveira, Messias, Otavio, Pacheco; Souza, Sobral; Lima, Vinicius, Sousa; Mendoza


SM words green background

We say: Sao Paulo 1-1 Ceara

The result was 1-1 when they last met and it could easily end up being the same again on Thursday, with neither team bringing much confidence into this fixture.

The lack of clinical and cutting edge in each side is something that has hurt them as of late, and it could also stop either truly going for the three points in this fixture as well.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 Sao Paulo win with a probability of 52.01%. A draw had a probability of 26.3% and a win for Ceara had a probability of 21.67%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sao Paulo win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.61%) and 2-1 (9.09%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.22%), while for a Ceara win it was 0-1 (8.23%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.2% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Sao Paulo vs Ceara

Sao Paulo
52.1%
Draw
39.6%
Ceara
8.3%
48
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1PalmeirasPalmeiras35217757282970
2Botafogo352010553272670
3InternacionalInternacional351811651292265
4FortalezaFortaleza341810649341564
5FlamengoFlamengo34188853381562
6Sao Paulo351781050371359
7Cruzeiro34138133937247
8Bahia35138144545047
9Corinthians351211124443147
10Atletico Mineiro351014114449-544
11Vasco da GamaVasco35127163753-1643
12Vitoria35126174049-942
13Athletico ParanaenseAthletico PR35118163842-441
14Gremio34117164044-440
15JuventudeJuventude35912144355-1239
16Fluminense34108163038-838
17CriciumaCriciuma34910153949-1037
18BragantinoBragantino35813143645-937
19Cuiaba35612172744-1730
20Atletico GoianienseAtletico GO3568212453-2926


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