Decision-making atmosphere in the last round of the Brasileirão. Separated by two points, Athletico and Botafogo face each other for the 38th and final round of the Brazilian Championship in a direct confrontation. The ball starts at 4pm this Sunday, at Arena da Baixada.
Hurricane comes from a 1-1 draw with the virtual relegated Atlético-GO, in Goiânia – before losing 2-0 to Inter, in Beira-Rio. The last victory was against Goiás by 3 to 2, at home. The red-black team occupies the sixth place, with 55 points, and depends only on itself to qualify for the Libertadores. A win takes Hurricane straight to the group stage, while a draw guarantees, at least, the G-8. In case of defeat, Athletico may be out and have to settle for Sudamericana.
Luiz Felipe Scolari has the return of defender and captain Thiago Heleno, who was suspended in the middle of the week. He takes the place of Pedro Henrique, who left with knee pain in the last round.
Felipão also signaled that he will change the team for disapproving of Atletico’s performance in the draw with Atlético-GO. At the time, the coach said it was “a horrible and disappointing game”. Alex Santana, therefore, should take Cuello’s spot, while Vitor Roque takes Pablo’s place.
Botafogo arrives for the confrontation packed with two important victories that put the team back in the fight for a spot in Libertadores. Like Athletico-PR, it depends on itself to qualify for the international competition. After one of the best performances of the team in the year, it will have a test of fire to show why it is the team with the second best campaign away from home.
Luís Castro should have two changes in relation to the starting lineup that started the game in a 3-0 victory over Santos in the last round. Marçal comes back from suspension and enters at left-back, in place of Hugo. The other change should be the entry of Patrick de Paula in the vacancy of the suspended Gabriel Pires. The tendency is for the rest of the team to be the same.
Atletico PR Analysis
The home team is currently in the 6th position, with 55 points won, after 15 wins, 10 draws and 12 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost out to Internacional by (2‑0). In the last match, they tied away for Atlético GO by (1‑1). This is a team affected by the home factor, as they have won 36 points at their stadium, with 28 goals scored and 17 conceded, against 19 points away, where they scored 17 goals and conceded 31. In the last 10 home matches for the championship, Athletico PR records six wins, three draws and one defeat, having won 21 points out of a possible 30.
Defensive consistency hasn’t been their strong point, as they have conceded goals in eight of the last 10 matches, but their offense has scored regularly, as they have scored goals in eight of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 37 matches for this competition, they have only turned the score around twice in the 19 matches in which they have conceded the first goal.
Botafogo analysis
After 15 wins, eight draws and 14 losses, the visiting team is in the 11th position, having won 50 points. In the last match, they beat Santos at home by (3‑0), after in the previous match they had won away, in a match against Atlético Mineiro, by (0‑2). Interestingly, this is a team that has achieved better results away from home than at home, having won 31 points as a visitor and only 19 at home.
In the championship, Botafogo won 17 points out of 30 possible, after five wins, two draws and three defeats in the last 10 games they played as a visitor. In their away league matches, the most frequent result at half-time was 1‑0 (7 out of 18 matches). Their offense has scored regularly, as they have scored goals in eight of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 37 matches for this competition, they have conceded the first goal 19 times and have only turned the score around three times.
