A place in the final of the Copa Sudamericana will be at stake when Fortaleza host Corinthians in the second leg of that tie from Arena Castelao on Tuesday.
The tie is dead-even heading into this decisive encounter after the opening match between the two last week finished in a 1-1 draw, with both teams seeking their first-ever appearance in the final of this tournament.
Match preview
After over a century as a club, Fortaleza are as close as ever to clutching a continental trophy but will need a victory on Tuesday to keep that dream afloat.
As we have often seen from them on the road throughout this competition, Leao do Pici hung back and sustained plenty of pressure at Corinthians last Tuesday with a counterattacking approach which proved effective early on as they went ahead in the 22nd minute, but in the end fell victim to a goal late in the opening half.
Conceding in the latter stages has been a recurring theme for Juan Pablo Vojvoda's men at the Sudamericana this year, as they have given up five goals with fewer than 15 minutes remaining in either the first or second half.
Their opening leg versus Corinthians, however, was the first time at the 2023 Sudamericana that Clube da Gatorada failed to emerge victorious from a match in which they had drawn first blood, as they had won 15 successive games in all competitions when doing so before last Tuesday.
While scoring first has been a sort of springboard for them, playing from behind has not exactly been their strong suit, with Fortaleza losing nine of their previous 10 matches in all competitions in that scenario.
Fortaleza are unbeaten at home in this competition, winning five of six encounters, while they head into this fixture on a six-match unbeaten run at Arena Castelao in all competitions, outscoring their opponents 12-4 over that stretch.
Since late August, Corinthians have got used to coming from behind, conceding the opening goal in five of their last eight games in all competitions, but they have managed to earn a result the previous two times that they have faced that situation.
Mano Menezes takes over from a Vanderlei Luxemburgo-coached side that have conceded first in three of their last five Sudamericana fixtures but have managed to earn a positive result on three of those occasions, while also taking out Estudiantes in a penalty shootout in the last eight despite losing the second leg of that tie 1-0 after normal time.
They enter this contest winless in eight successive away matches in all competitions, scoring a goal or fewer in seven of those encounters.
Timao have never won a second-leg encounter away from home at the Sudamericana from the last 16 and beyond, though they did emerge victorious from their round of 32 clash earlier this year versus Universitario in Peru (2-1).
Since being relegated into this competition from the Copa Libertadores group stage, Corinthians have found the back of the net in only one of their three away fixtures played in this competition, both of which came in the second half at Universitario.
Time do Povo are winless in their last four visits to Arena Castelao, scoring just once at Fortaleza over that stretch, with their previous road victory against them coming in a 2019 Brasileiro Serie A fixture (3-1).
Team News
Joao Ricardo, Ze Welison and Guilherme were all forced out of the Fortaleza fixture against Gremio this past weekend through suspension, though they are each are eligible to play in this decisive match on Tuesday.
Welison had the only goal for Leao do Pici in the opening leg of this tie, while Romarinho has struck twice for them versus Corinthians, though it was Juan Martin Lucero and Yago Pikachu who netted in their 2-1 victory at home against them in Serie A action earlier this season.
Thiago Galhardo had the opening goal for them in their weekend fixture, only for reserve goalkeeper Fernando Miguel to concede an 80th minute equaliser to Luis Suarez as they played Gremio to a 1-1 draw.
Giovane and Matias Rojas are doubtful for Timao on Tuesday because of thigh injuries, while Yuri Alberto, Fagner and Gabriel Moscardo are all eligible to return after being suspended for their domestic fixture this past weekend.
Alberto had their equalising goal against Fortaleza last week, his second in his previous three matches in all competitions, while Pedro had the only strike in their domestic defeat away to Clube da Gatorade earlier in the year.
Angel Romero gave Corinthians an early lead in their away match versus Sao Paulo on Saturday, but Cassio gave up a pair of strikes to Jonathan Calleri late in the opening half as they were beaten 2-1.
Fortaleza possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Tinga, Benvenuto, Titi, Pacheco; Alexandre, Welison; Augusto, Pochettino, Guilherme; Lucero
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Fagner, Gil, Verissimo, Santos; Moscardo; Maycon, Giuliano, Augusto, Romero; Alberto
We say: Fortaleza 1-0 Corinthians (Fortaleza advances 2-1 on aggregate)
Fortaleza have often found a way to come out on top throughout these home contests, and we believe their fans will give this team that little bit extra needed to will them to victory and give them an edge against a resilient Corinthians side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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