TFT Issue 498!
FreeHowdy guys and girls!
Still not much going on but Brazil is in action and there’s a game there that appeals to me, as you can see below.
Featured game
Sao Paulo vs Internacional – home win at 5/6.
Today’s featured game is the Serie A encounter between Sao Paulo and Internacional.
I’m rarely impressed with the inconsistent way that Sao Paulo usually play their football but of late they have shaped up a little and appear to be at least a little more reliable than normal. Ney Franco appears to have steadied the ship and three wins from four Serie A games gives them some momentum to bring into this game despite a defeat in Vitoria against Bahia in their most recent fixture. The absence of Luis Fabiano for that difficult fixture clearly hindered them but happily their leading goalscorer returns for today’s game. At home, Sao Paulo have proven to be rampant this season with eight wins from ten games. Only a disciplined display from Vasco da Gama and a weird game against Gremio have seen Sao Paulo stutter at home whilst everyone else has been put to the sword. It’s Sao Paulo’s strong defensive record at home that confuses me the most, to be honest. I’ve never associated them with being particularly good defensively, especially this season, but they do have a commanding record and that has to be respected. Sao Paulo smashed four past Botafogo and three past Ponte Preta in their most recent home games so they’re certainly doing what they do best right now. The suspension of Paris Saint-Germain-bound midfielder Lucas Moura for today’s game is not ideal but with Luis Fabiano back and playmaker Jadson in their ranks, I have enough faith in Sao Paulo being able to score goals here, which is half of the battle. As long as Sao Paulo maintain their composure, they really should be able to win this one.
Internacional’s form has been very hit-and-miss recently, which is most unlike them. Generally speaking, they’re one of the more reliable Serie A sides but injuries, suspensions, and international committments all led to a downturn of form which Internacional still haven’t recovered from. Despite recovering arguably their most valuable asset in Andres D’Alessandro, Internacional still have a huge task ahead of them to get a result tonight. A number of regulars are out for this game with Guinazu, Fred, Leandro Damiao, and Forlan all missing this game. It’s not so much the quantity of absentees that bother me for Internacional but more that I don’t see who will score their goals. D’Alessandro is a magician; he can make something from nothing and we saw that as Internacional ran out 4-1 winners against Flamengo in their last game. However, there’s no Leandro Damiao and there’s no Diego Forlan to put the ball in the net so where will their goals come from? They struggle to score goals away from home enough as it is but without those two strikers, the responsibility falls upon a number of average/inconsistent players, the most likely of which to make a difference would be the pacey Dagoberto or perhaps the experienced Rafael Moura. I’m sure Dagoberto would love to make an impression against his former club but I’m not so sure that this will be his day, to be honest. Internacional have only scored more than one goal in just two away games this season and neither were in the last two months. Internacional do not do enough in the final third on the road and against an assured Sao Paulo defence with their best strikers missing, I can only see a bad day coming for Internacional fans barring an inspired display.
For me, Sao Paulo are a must at 5/6, really. They’re the only one of these two sides that look capable of scoring here so barring some unfortunate circumstances, I do think that we’ll see a home win in this game.
Verdict: Sao Paulo to win at 5/6.
Team news
Brazilian Serie A:
Bahia – Jussandro, Avine, Coelho, and Jones Carioca are absent.
Atletico Mineiro – Ronaldinho, Rever, Junior Cesar are absent. Jo is a doubt.
Flamengo – Marcos Gonzalez, Caceres, Renato Abreu, Maldonado, and Airton are absent. Amaral returns.
Ponte Preta – Geronimo, Gustavo, and Wescley are absent. Uendel and Roger return.
Nautico – Kim, Ramirez, Kieza, and Marlon are absent. Rhayner and Elicarlos return.
Vasco da Gama – Pipico, Juninho, Felipe, Dede, Rodolfo, and Renato Silva are absent. Eder Luis returns.
Portuguesa – Valdomiro, Leandro Silva, Luis Ricardo, and Heverton are absent. Marcelo Cordeiro returns.
Coritiba – Keirrison, Cleiton, Jackson, Sergio Manoel, Roberto, and Deivid are absent. Ruidiaz and Emerson are doubts. Chico and Escudero return.
Gremio – Marquinhos, Kleber, Marcelo Moreno, Vilson, Fabio Aurelio, Bertoglio, and Julios Cesar are absent. Gilberto Silva and Elano return.
Atletico Goianiense – Bida, Marcos, Pituca, Felipe Brisola, Adriano Pimenta, Leonardo, Joilson, Felipe, Rafael Cruz, and Gilson are absent. Dodo, Gustavo, Renie, and Ricardo Bueno return.
Cruzeiro – Alex Silva, Ceara, Victorino, William Magrao, and Fabinho are absent. Montillo, Thiago Carvalho return.
Botafogo – Jefferson, Lodeiro, Marcelo Mattos, Lucas Zen, Rafael Marques, Andrezinho, and Antonio Carlos are absent.
Figueirense – Abreu, Heber, Fernandes, Almir, Volpi are absent. Julio Cesar and Ronny return.
Corinthians – Cassio, Ramirez, Guerrero, Paulinho, Emerson, Danilo, Alessandro, and Paulo Andre are absent.
Sao Paulo – Lucas Moura, Canete, and Fabricio are absent. Luis Fabiano returns.
Internacional – Guinazu, Fred, Forlan, Leandro Damiao, Bolivar, Otavinho, Kleber, Juan, and Ygor are absent. Elton and Datolo return.