Two teams who have not lost a game in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A in quite some time will do battle on Sunday as Bragantino host Sao Paulo.
The six-time Brazilian champions are unbeaten in eight straight league matches, while Massa Bruta have not lost in Serie A since late September and are currently unbeaten in seven consecutive fixtures in all competitions.
Match preview
Bragantino have quietly put together a solid domestic campaign, and they are right in the thick of a tight race for second place in the league table.
Mauricio Barbieri has guided this team to the final of the Copa Sudamericana, and they have not looked back since then, unbeaten in their previous six league games, and without a defeat in four straight home matches in all competitions.
Not only have they been able to keep pace near the top of the standings, but they have done it by earning some positive results against several strong opponents, coming back to draw Flamengo 1-1 and overwhelming Palmeiras 4-2, all in the span of a few days this month.
Throughout the year, their system has created many turnovers and given them plenty of quality scoring opportunities, and when they get a chance to score, they usually convert it, with the second-most goals in the league so far (43), behind only the defending Brasileiro champions.
Lately, many of their games have been settled very late as they scored a 95th-minute equaliser to draw Internacional earlier this week, and last weekend Braga had a two-goal lead evaporate, conceding twice in injury time to draw Ceara 2-2.
They may not be able to catch the league leaders for a little while, trailing Atletico Mineiro by 13 points, but this team are certainly within reach of equalling their best-ever domestic campaign, when they came in second in 1991, as Massa Bruta are only three points back of second at the moment.
The tenure of Hernan Crespo ended abruptly earlier this month, as the former Argentine international and Sao Paulo mutually agreed to part ways after only seven months on the job.
Tricolor Paulista were 13th in the league when they made this move, a far cry from their previous three domestic campaigns in which the club finished no lower than sixth.
For the remainder of the season, the team is back in the hands of club legend Rogerio Ceni, who helped them win three straight league championships as a player between 2006 and 2008 and was a member of the Brazilian national team that triumphed at the 2002 World Cup.
The former goalkeeper will hope that his second stint as the boss goes better than his first, when he was sacked after 35 games, winning only 14 while losing 10.
So far, the 48-year-old has seen two very different performances from his players, who began with a 1-1 draw against Ceara where they had eight shots on goal while allowing seven, and then blanking Corinthians 1-0 last Monday, despite firing only two shots on target and conceding the same amount.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what kind of identity this team will have, with 11 games remaining to try and salvage what has been a disappointing season for a club who always have lofty expectations.
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Team News
Bruno Goncalves scored the equaliser for Bragantino on Wednesday, his fourth of the domestic campaign, putting him even with Alerrandro and Helinho on the season, while Ytalo, their leading scorer, is without a goal since October 9 but has not played in their last two matches.
Artur was the hero the last time they faced Sao Paulo, with the number seven finishing off a nice set-up from Raul for the game winner.
On Thursday, Braga made three changes from the side that started against Ceara with Edimar, Leo Ortiz and Eric Ramires, replacing Luan Candido, Natan and Jadsom.
Emiliano Rigoni scored the lone goal for Sao Paulo in their earlier meeting versus Bragantino, while Jonathan Calleri scored his fourth of the campaign on Monday, which stood up as the winner, moving him into a tie for the team lead with Rigoni and one ahead of Pablo.
Walce remains out of the lineup for O Clube da Fe, with the 22-year-old defender having missed the entire year so far due to a cruciate ligament rupture.
Tiago Volpi is tied for third in the league in clean sheets after picking up his 10th this year, making two saves at home to Corinthians.
Bragantino possible starting lineup:
Cleiton; Edimar, Natan, Bruno, Aderlan; Cuello, Martinez, Pedrinho, Jadsom; Hurtado, Alerrandro
Sao Paulo possible starting lineup:
Volpi; Welington, Arboleda, Leo, Reinaldo; Neves; Gomes, Nestor, Sara; Eder, Calleri
We say: Bragantino 2-1 Sao Paulo
Bragantino have been somewhat under the radar this month, and that seems to suit them just fine as they are playing a lot looser and finding a way to earn points regularly.
Sao Paulo are still searching for their identity and discovering what that is may take longer than most fans would like.
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