There is a full round of Brazilian Serie A fixtures to look forward to this week and the action starts on Wednesday night when Coritiba welcome Cruzeiro to the Estádio Major Antônio Couto Pereira in Curitiba. Coritiba have won the Brazilian Serie A once in their history, back in 1985 and since then they have been down in Serie B, winning the division in 2010 and making a return to the Brazilian top-flight. Cruzeiro finished the 2016 Brazilian Serie A season in 12th place and will be hoping to make an improvement on that in this campaign. They last topped the division in 2014, which was their second league title in a row but have failed to come close since then.
Brasil Serie A – Estádio Major Antônio Couto Pereira, Curitiba 18th October – 22:30 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 11/5 at Ladbrokes |
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Cruzeiro
CoritibaCoritiba Form
Coritiba come into this match sitting a lowly 19th in the Serie A table and desperately need a win to try and lift themselves out of the relegation zone.
They have played 28 games, winning only 7, drawing 7 and losing 14, which is a poor record. Only Atletico GO have a worse record and they sit bottom on 26 points. A win in this match alone will not be enough to lift Coritiba out of the relegation zone and they must turn their form around quickly if they want to remain in Serie A for next season. Coritiba have failed to win any of their previous 9 matches in Serie A, picking up just 3 points from a possible 27 available. At home, they have lost their last 3 games in a row and have won only 1 of their last 11.
Cruzeiro Form
Cruzeiro start this match in 5th place in the Serie A table and are currently in the Copa Libertadores qualifying places. They have 47 points from 28 games played, with 13 wins, 8 draws and 7 defeats. A win in this match could see them move as far up the table as second place, although Corinthians look difficult to catch at the top of the table.
Cruzeiro’s form has been good and not only have they won 5 of their last 6 Serie A games, they have also defeated Flamengo in the Copa do Brasil finals on penalties. You must go back 9 games in Serie A to find the last time Cruzeiro tasted defeat. Away from home, Cruzeiro have won 4 of their last 5 games in Serie A, suffering only 1 defeat.
Team News
Coritiba are likely to start in their preferred 4-3-1-2 formation, with Henrique Almeida and Rildo starting as the two strikers. Coritiba are made up mainly of Brazilian players and their starting XI will probably be all-Brazilian. Cruzeiro have a couple of Argentine players in their ranks but they are likely to start on the bench for this game. Expect to see Rafael Sobis leading the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Top Betting tips
Cruzeiro’s have scored in 8 of their previous 9 away games and with Coritiba struggling to keep clean sheets at home, they should get on the score sheet again in this game. With Coritiba in poor form and failing to score in 3 of their last 4 home games, Cruzeiro to win to nil at 29/10 with Ladbrokes seems like a good bet. Cruzeiro have scored 2 or more goals in 4 of their last 5 away games and you can get 9/5 with Coral for Cruzeiro to score 2 or more goals in this match. Thiago Neves has scored 7 goals for Cruzeiro in Serie A this season and all 7 have been the first goal of the game. Neves is 8/1 with Ladbrokes to score the first goals of the match.