Flamengo v Goias

Flamengo boss Paulo Souza hasn’t had the greatest of starts to his tenure at the club both on and off the field. Off the field, he was put under pressure by former manager Jorge Jesus who was flirting with a move back to the club. Then this week, a fallout with Diego Alves has been well documented in the Brazilian press with board members said to discuss the fiction after the Goias game.

On the field, at least in the league, Flamengo have been struggling to find form. With only one win in six matches, Souza is under real pressure to start getting positive results or else he could soon be well shown the exit. On Saturday evening, it looked like Flamengo were going to hang on for the second win of the season but, Nino Paraiba had other ideas when his free kick stunned the Rubro Negro to earn Ceará a point. In midweek, however, Flamengo did bounce back with a 3-0 victory in the Copa Libertadores over Chilean outfit, Universidad Católica.

Whilst Flamengo have created chances with an XG of 2.6 per game in the league, they have also been allowing efforts at their goal with an XG against at 1.5 per game. This is worrying for Flamengo, and they are going to have to improve. Their main issue has been finishing off scoring chances, which cost them in their last home game in Serie A, where they lost 1-0 to Botafogo, despite having the better chances.

Their opponents, Goias have had an upturn in form in their last three matches, winning two and drawing one, more importantly, they have managed to keep two clean sheets in this period. Despite this, there is still a worry about Goias defensively as they are averaging 20.5 shots at their goal per game, which is way more than anyone else in the league. It often takes heroics from goalkeeper Tadeu to keep them in the game. History doesn’t bode well for them in this fixture, their last three trips to Rio de Janeiro to take on Flamengo have ended in: a 2-1, a 6-1 and a 4-1 defeat.

Flamengo come into the game as heavy favourites but with the chances, they have allowed their opponents so far this season, it’s likely they are going to have to score at least twice to ensure they pick up the three points here. Goias average an XG against them per match of 2.7 and the Rubro Negro will be confident of notching up a few goals.

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Juventude v Palmeiras

Palmeiras have started their 2022 Brazilian Serie A campaign not in a way they would have liked. After six games, Palmeiras sit in ninth place with: two wins, three draws and one defeat. This one was a problem for Abel Ferreira’s men last season, who were too inconsistent to challenge for the league title. When Palmeiras play the sides at the top end of the table, they tend to allow the opposition to have more of the ball, enabling Palmeiras to hit them on the counterattack. When they play against the lesser sides, Palmeiras tend to struggle to break their opponents down. In midweek in the Copa Libertadores against Emelec, Palmeiras had possession of 64% with an XG of 1.80. Although in this game they managed a 1-0 victory, it took them 74 minutes to finally unlock the door to Emelec’s goal. 

Verdão did enjoy a 2-0 victory in their last league match over Bragantino and will now be hoping to make it two league wins in a row for the first time this season. 

Juventude come into this game with only one win in their last eight league games. Last time out, they enjoyed a 1-0 victory away from home against Avai, despite having only three attempts at goal, with an XG of 0.58. 

Juventude are yet to keep a clean sheet this season and have conceded 14.8 shots at their goal per game. Palmeiras create on average seventeen shots per game with 5.2 being on target. If this happens in this matchup, Palmeiras should have enough to pick up the three points against Juve, for their first away victory of the season.

Surprisingly, Palmeiras have only one win in six against Juventude but will take confidence in knowing that it was the last time they travelled to Estadio Alfredo Jaconi, where they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners with a dominant display.

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Corinthians v Sao Pauolo

When the two Paulista state giants, Corinthians and São Paulo go head-to-head, the game is known as the Clássico Majestoso. Like many derbies in Brazil, it is a fixture that is highly anticipated and is jam-packed with history, controversy and of course, the occasional brawl. Between them, they have a staggering eighty-two trophies.

This will be manager Vitor Pereira’s third taste of the rivalry. The last one was back in March with Sao Paulo running out 2-1 winners in the State Championship’s. Since then, Corinthians have lost just twice and sit top of the table. Timão have been exciting to watch this season, at least for the neutral, per game they create on average 10.2 shots but concede 13.3, something they’ll be eager to address. This was evident in their last league outing, which saw them draw 2-2 with Internacional, away from home, in a thrilling encounter. Despite failing to win, Corinthians still sit top of the Brazilian Serie A.

Since their 2-1 victory over Corinthians back in March, Rogério Ceni’s men have been in similar form with only two defeats in all competitions since that fixture. In their last league meeting, São Paulo took on Cuiaba and dominated in every aspect, creating twenty-one efforts, and having 73% of the ball, as they ran out 2-1 winners. Unlike their opponents, Sao Paulo sit third from bottom in terms of shots conceded as they tend to be patient in possession and defend as a unit when they do not have the ball. Offensively, they are quite handy too which sees them create on average 13.8 shots per game, almost four more than the league leaders. 

 Sao Paulo have scored more goals than anyone in the league from open play with nine and will be confident of continuing that trend, this is similar to Corinthians who have seven. With both sides hit and miss defensively, both teams scoring should be a likely outcome.

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