Atlético-MG and Palmeiras will face each other this Wednesday, at 21:45 (Brasília time), at Mineirão. The match is valid for the 28th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
Stagnant in seventh place, the Rooster has 40 points. They haven’t won at home in the Brazilian for five rounds, and are coming off a defeat against Avaí in Ressacada in the last round. The team has not lost to Palmeiras in eight matches. He will have the support of the fans to win again in Serie A and still dream of a direct spot in the group stage of Libertadores. It is the objective that remains.
Hulk is still recovering from a calf injury and it’s unlikely he’ll be on the field. Without the striker, Cuca tends to choose Alan Kardec or Eduardo Sasha. There is also a fight over the right wing, and Ademir should be the owner of the post, with Pavón and Vargas as options.
In midfield, Zaracho was released by doctors. It came from muscle wasting and special work regime. If he has full conditions, he will start with Nacho on the bench. Mariano should return to the starting lineup after two away games. In addition, Jemerson remains in the starting lineup with Alonso serving the Paraguayan national team.
With 57 points, and isolated leader, Palmeiras enters the field looking to maintain the advantage in the leadership and the invincibility as a visitor in the current edition of the Brasileirão. There were seven wins and six draws away from home.
With seven absences (including the possible starter Fabinho), Palmeiras will have a very modified team in tonight’s match. In addition to the players’ absence list, coach Abel Ferreira is suspended and will not be able to command Verdão from Mineirão’s bench.
With this, Verdão will have at least five changes in the starting lineup, four of them due to embezzlement. Marcelo Lomba, Luan and Atuesta were chosen to replace Weverton, Gustavo Gómez and Zé Rafael, respectively.
Fabinho would replace Danilo, but now Abel will have to choose either to use Naves, a U-20 player who acts as a defensive midfielder and defender, or to improvise a defender in the sector, like Luan or Kuscevic.
The other change should be tactical: Breno Lopes should act in place of Bruno Tabata, leaving Gustavo Scarpa as the team’s point guard.
PROGNOSIS
Both teams score: yes 1.91
Palmeiras has the best campaign as a visitor (7 wins and 6 draws) and scores a lot of goals away from Allianz: 18 balls in the net, against 8 goals conceded. On the other hand, Galo is strong at Mineirão, has a squad with many high-level players and will attack the championship leader. The trend is for goals for both.
More than 1.5 goals 1.38
If the expectation is fulfilled, Atlético-MG x Palmeiras should be a busy game. The trend, even due to the embezzlement, is for Alviverde to stay further back and try to explore spaces in speed counterattacks.
More than 10.5 corners 2.00
With an average of 7.6 corners per game in the Brasileirão, Palmeiras has a lot of offensive volume and always contributes well to statistics. On the other hand, Galo, who will most likely have control of the match and will be able to exploit crosses if the opponent closes in, takes 6.3 corner shots on average and will increase the number.
2nd half: more than 0.5 goals 1.29
Palmeiras should start closed, waiting for Atlético-MG in the defense field. Because of this, the roster of stars at Galo will have to be creative to break the blockade of the São Paulo defender, lacking Gustavo Gómez and Weverton. As they are excellent teams, with two of the best squads in the country, the tendency is for at least one ball in the net after the break.
