Fortaleza, buoyed by their previous result, will be hoping for more of the same after a 1-2 Serie A victory over São Paulo.
In that match, Fortaleza had 29% possession and 6 shots at goal with 2 of them on target. For Fortaleza, goals were scored by Juan Lucero (66\') and Imanol Machuca (80\'). Sao Paulo got 15 attempts at goal with 6 of them on target. André Silva (84\') was the scorer for São Paulo.
Their latest results highlight the fact that huge efforts have been put in by the Fortaleza backline. Fortaleza have kept it tight, resulting in the number of goals that have gone past their goalkeeper during their last 6 matches standing at 2.
Ahead of this clash, Fortaleza have not been beaten in their last 3 league matches at home.
Cruzeiro will go into this match following a 3-2 Serie A win with the defeat of Botafogo in their last match.
In that game, Cruzeiro had 57% possession and 15 attempts on goal with 5 of them on target. For Cruzeiro, the goalscorers were Lucas Silva (20\'), Rafa Silva (65\') and Rafael Elias (91\'). Botafogo got 6 shots at goal with 3 on target. Tiquinho Soares (5\') and Danilo Barbosa (83\') scored for Botafogo.
In 5 of the prior 6 clashes involving Cruzeiro, a comparatively low number of goals have been hit between them and opposing sides. The overall average goals scored per game during that period is a meagre 2, with the number of goals averaged by Celeste being 0.83. Such a pattern won’t necessarily be sustained into this game, though.
Ahead of this clash, Cruzeiro are undefeated in their last 3 league matches away from home.
Head to head
Looking at the statistics for their head to head duels stretching back to 03/06/2006, there is nothing to separate the two clubs with Fortaleza winning 2 of those games, Cruzeiro 2 and 2 being draws in normal time.
A combined sum of 9 goals were shared by the two clubs during those clashes, with 4 of them from Fortaleza and 5 for Celeste. The average number of goals per game works out to 1.5.
The last league match featuring the two was Serie A match day 30 on 18/11/2023 when it ended Fortaleza 0-1 Cruzeiro.
That day, Fortaleza managed 53% possession and 18 attempts at goal with 7 of them on target.
Cruzeiro got 7 shots at goal with 2 on target. Bruno Rodrigues (80\') scored.
The match was refereed by Savio Pereira Sampaio.
Team News: Fortaleza
The Fortaleza boss Juan Vojvoda will be grateful not to have any fitness concerns at all ahead of this match thanks to a completely healthy group available to select from.
It looks as if Fortaleza will probably make use of the 4-2-3-1 system for this game featuring João Ricardo, Emanuel Brítez, Titi, Benjamin Kuscevic, Bruno Pacheco, Hércules, Ze Welison, Yago Pikachu, Tomas Pochettino, Marinho and Juan Martin Lucero.
Team News: Cruzeiro
Cruzeiro boss Nicolás Larcamón has multiple availability issues to deal with. Gabriel Veron (Torn thigh muscle) and Rafael Bilu (Achilles tendon rupture) can’t be considered.
It’s our belief that Celeste could decide to play in a 4-2-3-1 system, going with Anderson Paixao, William, Neris, Zé Ivaldo, Marlon, Ramiro, Lucas Romero, Lucas Silva, Matheus Pereira, Arthur Gomes and Rafael Silva.
Prediction
When taking all factors into account, Cruzeiro will likely be able to score a goal against this Fortaleza outfit, but that is unlikely to be enough to prevent defeat.
We are anticipating a tight encounter finishing with a 2-1 winning score for Fortaleza at the end of the 90 minutes. Let’s wait and see how it plays out.
