Seeking a third win from four matches in the Campeonato Brasileiro, Internacional visit rock-bottom Coritiba on Thursday.

The teams convene at Estadio Couto Pereira, with the hosts yet to pick up a point in Serie A this season and their counterparts from Porto Alegre recovering from a slow start to the 2023 campaign.

Match preview

After conceding an 89th-minute equaliser to be denied victory in Montevideo four days earlier, Internacional soon bounced back from such bitter disappointment against Copa Libertadores rivals Nacional by posting a fourth league win of the season.

Back on home soil at Estadio Beira-Rio, they raced into a two-goal lead over promoted strugglers Vasco da Gama last time out, with Romulo and Wanderson both finding the net before the half-hour mark.

Though they ultimately had to settle for just a 2-1 victory over Serie A's 19th-placed side, Inter have now taken seven points from the last nine available and are edging closer to the Libertadores qualifying places.

Ex-Brazil boss Mano Menezes has also led his side to second place in Group B of this year's competition, in which they are unbeaten so far - the Porto Alegre giants return to continental action later this month, at home to Colombia's Independiente Medellin.

That marks a vast improvement on the opening phase of their Brasileiro campaign, which featured a run of four successive defeats, so Inter's next target will be to record a first away win of 2023 in the league - and this week perhaps presents the perfect opportunity to do so.

Having avoided relegation despite suffering 20 defeats from 38 league games last year, Coritiba were again among those tipped for demotion to Serie B this term - and they have yet to prove the doubters wrong.

Coxa remain rooted to the foot of the Serie A standings after drawing 0-0 with Santos in their most recent outing, though they have lost only two of their first five home games.

Following their latest failure to get off the mark, Antonio Carlos Zago's side are still searching for a first win in any competition since February, but they at least kept a rare clean sheet after conceding a league-high 20 goals during the first nine rounds.

Since being appointed at the end of April, Zago - a former Roma defender, who also won 37 caps for the Selecao - has made little impact: his side sit five points adrift of safety, having also been knocked out in the first round of the Copa do Brasil.

Ending such a grim run by winning this week presents quite a task for Coritiba - particularly after an 11-year winless run against Internacional - but after a recent takeover by an ambitious private equity firm, continuing their drift towards Serie B is simply not an option.

Team News

Both Gabriel - who continues his return from an ACL injury - and Mauricio (shoulder) are unavailable for Internacional, as they attempt to extend their decade-long dominance of Coritiba on Thursday.

Carlos De Pena and Charles Aranguiz (both thigh) are doubts too, and Mano Menezes will definitely be without Rodrigo Moledo, who must serve a suspension after picking up his third yellow card of the season in the win over Vasco.

Veteran striker Luiz Adriano should lead the line in attack for his hometown club, with another ex-Shakhtar Donetsk man, Alan Patrick, among his supporting cast.

Meanwhile, Coritiba's Willian Farias remains sidelined by a muscular problem, and fellow midfielder Liziero is also set to miss Inter's visit.

Thiago Dombroski recently recovered from a knee problem and should feature in the hosts' back three, while Benjamin Kuscevic could join him after missing the draw with Santos due to a one-match ban.

Coritiba possible starting lineup:
Gabriel; Thiago, Henrique, Kuscevic; Natanael, Andrey, Moreno, Gomes, Bahia; Manga, Robson

Internacional possible starting lineup:
John; Bustos, Vitao, Hernandez, Rene; Campanharo, Romulo; Henrique, Patrick, Wanderson; Adriano

We say: Coritiba 1-2 Internacional

While Coritiba seem to have stemmed the tide of goals against them, Inter's attacking options are sufficient to break through their defence at least once. The visitors are starting to stir into life, so a first league win on the road this year should arrive at Estadio Couto Pereira.


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