Coritiba and Cuiaba will face each other for the first time in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A with both sides narrowly above the relegation zone.

Coxa are winless in three straight league fixtures, while Dourado found an equaliser deep into stoppage time, drawing Atletico Mineiro 1-1.

Match preview

As they hit the halfway point of the domestic campaign, Coritiba sit just a point above relegation and have not done themselves any favours this month, winning only one of their four games.

They have found themselves behind in each of their previous three league encounters heading into the interval and have only tallied once in the first half since June.

Gustavo Morinigo has not been able to solve their defensive issues this season, with his team conceding the second-most goals (30) in the Brazilian top-flight.

If only they could always play their matches at Estadio Couto Pereira, they could be much higher in the table as 17 of their 19 points have come at home.

Their most impressive defensive displays have occurred in front of their fans in the Parana capital, where the home side have kept three clean sheets so far in 2022, conceding just a single goal on two occasions.

Three of their next four games will be at home, with all of those encounters being against teams above them in the table.

Therefore, it is a real opportunity for this team to put some distance between themselves and relegation while also having a shot at moving into a Copa Sudamericana position.

Defensive solidity and a more substantial commitment to holding a stingy backline has enabled Cuiaba to dig out of relegation danger in their second top-flight campaign.

Despite being the inferior unit on paper at home to the 2021 Brasileiro champions earlier this week, Antonio Oliveira's men kept plugging away and eventually found an equalising goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time.

They have points in three of their four games played with Oliveira on the sidelines, and they are tied for the fourth-fewest goals conceded in the league this season (19).

We rarely see them with much more than 40% possession throughout a 90-minute encounter, but they have still managed to create a fair amount of scoring opportunities in recent matches, firing a total of 18 shots on target this month, including eight versus Mineiro when they only had the ball for 31% of that match.

Their quality in the final third has been in short supply since entering the top flight a year ago, tallying just 34 times in 2021 while scoring once or fewer on 16 separate occasions this season.

They should be feeling a lot better about their performances away from home in recent matches, holding the highest scoring team in the league, Palmeiras, to a single goal in a 1-0 defeat last week.

Dourado also captured just their third victory on the road prior to that narrow loss against Palestra, coming back to defeat Avai 2-1.

Team News

Luciano Castan had the only goal for Coritiba this week in their 3-1 defeat at Corinthians, while their top scorer Leo Gamalho has goals in their last two home fixtures.

Guillermo de los Santos picked up his first assist of the campaign in their loss this week, while Igor Paixao leads them in that department this season with four, and he is tied with Adrian Martinez for second in goals at four.

Warley and Robinho could be sidelined for a few more days as each of them are dealing with thigh injuries, while Andrey is out for the season due to a torn ACL.

Gabriel Pirani was the hero for Cuiaba in their previous match, scoring on virtually the last action of that encounter, thanks to a nice set-up from Joaquim.

Valdivia, Andre and Alesson are all tied for first on the team in goals with two, while Joaquim is in a five-way tie for the lead in assists alongside Marquinhos, Rafael Gava, Felipe Marques and Uendel.

Uendel was one of several changes made to the opening lineup as he, Camilo and Pepe were replaced by Alan Empereur, Igor Carius and Kelvin Osorio.

Coritiba possible starting lineup:
Muralha; Egidio, Castan, de los Santos, Nathan; Farias; Paixao, Anderson, Vitor, Bernardo; Martinez

Cuiaba possible starting lineup:
Walter; Lucas, Marllon, Empereur, Uendel; Camilo; Alesson, Gava, Rivas, Osorio; Rodriguinho

We say: Coritiba 1-0 Cuiaba

Cuiaba have done an excellent job at defending the dangerous scoring areas of the field, however they rarely seem to be able to muster much offence on the road, and it will not be easy to penetrate a rock-solid backline in Coritiba, who play their best at home.

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