Gremio will look to continue their resurgence in the Brasileiro Serie A when they play host to Corinthians at Arena do Gremio on Sunday.
The home side suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Flamengo in a Copa do Brasil quarter-final clash last time out and will be itching to return to winning ways this weekend against Sylvinho's inconsistent Corinthians.
Match preview
A difficult start to the Brasileiro campaign saw Gremio pick up only two points from their opening eight matches to leave them languishing at the basement of the standings.
Owing to this underwhelming form, erstwhile manager Tiago Nunes was relieved of his duties, with the experienced Luiz Felipe Scolari taking over the reins at Arena do Gremio to attempt to salvage the club's faltering campaign.
The former Brazil manager, who returned to Gremio for the fourth time, has since helped mastermind a resurgence, as the Imortal Tricolor continue to rise up the standings having remained unbeaten in six of their eight league games under Scolari, and nine out of 13 across all competitions.
With three wins from their previous five matches, Gremio occupy 17th place in the standings, having garnered 16 points in as many games, and are only two points adrift of the safety zone, with a game in hand.
Even though Scolari's men were on the receiving end of a 4-0 thrashing against Flamengo in the Copa do Brasil quarter-final on Thursday, they will take solace in the fact that their Brasileiro form has improved a lot over the past month.
Last seen in league action at home to Bahia, the Imortal Tricolor did just about enough to secure maximum points, thanks to goals from their top scorer Miguel Borja and Diego Souza, both of whom will be hopeful of getting on the scoresheet this weekend to make it three wins on the spin.
Corinthians are enduring a topsy-turvy campaign, and despite their pretty-looking sixth position on the log, having picked up 24 points from 17 games, they are only eight points clear of the relegation places.
Given how congested the middle of the table is, Sylvinho's charges cannot afford to allow any slip up if they are to remain in the top-six mix over the coming weeks.
Coupled with the fact that the Timao failed to make it past the group stages of the Copa Sudamericana, they have also struggled for consistency in the Brasileiro, recording only three wins from their previous seven matches.
That said, Corinthians have actually been impressive on the road with only one defeat in their nine away games so far, and the Timao continued to flourish on their travels last time out with a narrow 1-0 win at Athletico Paranaense.
With the third-best defensive record in the league, having kept six clean sheets this term, Corinthians will be confident of keeping Gremio's attackers at bay here.
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Team News
Ahead of this encounter, Gremio remain without the services of Maicon, Guilherme Guedes and Diego Churin, as the trio recover from their respective injuries.
Having suffered an ACL injury a few weeks ago, Leo Gomes is set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines, as the right-back's time at the club continues to be marred by series of setbacks.
With Ruan Tressoldi rested for their Copa do Brasil clash against Flamengo, the 17-year-old is expected to return to the starting lineup to partner Rodrigues in defence, while top scorer Miguel Borja should lead the line.
As for the visitors, Gustavo Mantuan and Ruan Oliveira are not available for selection as they continue their recuperation from knee problems.
Sylvinho should not tinker with his backline, one that has managed the third-best defensive record in the league, hence, we expect a regular back four of Fagner, Victor, Gil and Fabio Santos, with club captain Cassio keeping his place in goal.
New-signing Jo, who has notched up four goals and an assist so far, should lead Corinthians' line, even though he has failed to hit the target in each of his previous seven matches.
Gremio possible starting lineup:
Chapeco; Rafinha, Tressoldi, Rodrigues, Cortez; Silva, Villasanti; Pereira, Costa, Alisson; Borja
Corinthians possible starting lineup:
Classio; Fagner, Victor, Gil, Fabio Santos; Gabriel, Medeiros de Moura; Mosquito, Giuliano, Adson; Jo
We say: Gremio 0-1 Corinthians
Taking into consideration that Corinthians have the third-best defensive record in the league and Gremio are not very convincing in attack, this should be a low-scoring encounter.
With the visitors looking to retain their place in the top six, we expect them to deliver a winning performance to topple Scolari's men.
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