Not many results had me scratching my head more than RB Bragantino’s demolition job of league leaders Sao Paulo last time out.. The table-toppers walked into every conceivable trap set out by the youngsters, and the Red Bull franchise did not squander their chances. That’s two rather unusual things happening at once!
RB Bragantino always threaten teams enough to score four goals, to be fair to them, and as I’ve said on countless occasions already this season, I am confident that they’ll become a good side in the next couple of years. They’ve invested plenty of money (for a Brazilian club) in talented youngsters, and the true effects of such will come with time. I get the impression that they’re still not all that settled at RB Bragantino, still waiting for the right manager to emerge. Barbieri might well be that man but it remains to be seen if that’s the case or not.
I do think that they’ve looked a little more mature when it’s come to controlling games, RB Bragantino, especially since Barbieri took over. They’re far from perfect, and will concede if teams get at their defence properly, but they look more intelligent now instead of solely relying on outsourcing their opponents in order to give themselves a chance of winning matches. Things are steadily improving for them, as I said above, and I am convinced that they won’t be involved in the relegation battle this season.
The likes of Claudinho, Alerrandro, Artur, and Cuello have impressed enough for Evangelista’s injury problems of late to be less relevant. The team moves the ball fast enough and forward enough for the attackers to thrive too. There’s even another level for them to go to at the back when they eventually decide to integrate their Colombian youngsters. I am really quite excited for the future of RB Bragantino, predominantly because I have the unpopular opinion that Red Bull only improves football in whatever country they decide to operate in. I may not take their emphatic win over Sao Paulo all that seriously in the sense that they aren’t able to repeat such on a regular basis, but I do think it’ll stand them in good stead for tonight’s match.
I’m not convinced that Atletico Mineiro will be as charitable as Sao Paulo were though. True enough, they play a bolder style of football than the league leaders, but they do so because their athleticism and energy in midfield tends to dissuade teams from getting at them with any real conviction. Some of Brazil’s better teams have managed to deal with it, and once you get at the Belo Horizonte club’s defence, it tends to concede. Sampaoli’s men are so used to playing adventurously now though, that it doesn’t faze them any longer if they don’t keep a clean sheet. They just keep plugging away, trying to score goals, and they usually manage it.
Having fast players in Brazil’s Serie A is not uncommon, as you can appreciate. Having good finishers, however, is rather rare – but Atletico Mineiro have such. Surprisingly, it was discovered in Keno rather than Marrony, although I do rate the latter highly. Both have life fairly easy at Atletico Mineiro though, being fed by Savarino, Franco, Nathan, Zaracho, Hyoran, and my favourite of the lot, Allan. They’ve got so many athletic, intimidating players that dealing with Atletico Mineiro is a complete nightmare. Press them – they’ll counter you. Sit back – they’ll run past you. Attack them, and they’ll counter you even harder. There’s no good way to play against them, basically.
Other than Sao Paulo, no Brazilian team has bested Atletico Mineiro since November, and I am not surprised by that. They’re still very much in the title race too, especially with Flamengo and Sao Paulo displaying very little interest in winning the title at the moment. I really wouldn’t bet against Sampaoli and co. However, I do think it’s important that they win tonight to set out their stall, and that will be a challenge. It’s one I expect them to manage, to be honest, but it could be argued that their opponents are playing their most effective football right now that they’ve played all season. That should make it interesting, to say the least.
Therefore, I’ve opted to avoid the 1×2 market; Brazil has been a bit zany on that front lately. However, backing over 2.5 goals at 49/50 simply makes sense to me, hence the pick.
