On a tour of the Brazilian Championship, Cruzeiro will receive on Sunday, November 12, the deflated Fluminense. In Mineirão, the game begins at 19h (Brasília time). It is part of the schedule of the thirty-fourth round of the 2017 edition of Brasileirão.
Cruzeiro’s recent performance
The year is over for Cruzeiro. Although the sheet of 2017 still hangs on the wall of the Toca da Raposa, in practice, the preparation of the team for 2018 began when Cruzeiro won the title of the Brazilian Cup and without chances to reach the title in the Brazilian Championship was without any goal in the Brasileirão.
So the team has taken on the firefly style ever since. Turns on and off depending on the players’ interest. Wednesday, November 8, was blackout day. In one of the worst performances of the year Raposa took Flamengo 2-0 in Rio de Janeiro. He dropped to sixth place. He has 51 points (14 wins, 9 draws and 10 losses).
The position in the table, however, is not part of the technical committee’s concerns. Mano Menezes, who had his contract renewed and will remain in command of the team, acknowledged at the end of the match that he is taking advantage of the remaining games to give opportunities to some players aiming at the end of the year to determine if they will remain in the cast or will be dismissed.
Even in this scenario, the results can be considered positive in the overall picture. With 24 points earned in the last 14 games, Cruzeiro has the second best campaign of the second round of the Brasileirão.
The confrontation with the Tricolor das Laranjeiras can serve as a test platform for Rafael Marques and Jonata. They may have a chance to enter, albeit in the second half, since three of the four options that the trainer has used to command the attack are not available. Sassá and Raniel remain in the medical department and Uruguayan midfielder De Arrascaeta, who is eventually improvised at the post, is serving Uruguay in the preparatory games for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Thus, Rafael Sóbis, which has been used as ‘false nine’ is the only one available. Must be scaled as a starter.
The current form of Fluminense
Fluminense closed the thirty-third round of the Brasileirão on Thursday night, November 9, and did not get a good result. In Maracanã, he came out at a disadvantage against Coritiba, got the turn, but ended up yielding the tie by 2 to 2. This practically ended the dream of the team to reach the classification for the Copa Libertadores of America.
Thus, the final stretch of the Brasileirão has two very modest objectives for the club. The first, of course, is to reach the 45 points that are considered necessary to avoid the fall to Serie B. The second, minimally more bold, is to guarantee the classification for the 2018 edition of the South American Cup. This right is reserved for the first 13 places, but can be extended even for the clubs in the fourteenth and fifteenth cases Flamengo and Grêmio win respectively in Sula and Libertadores this year. The rubro-negro is in the semifinals and the tricolor gaucho will decide the title.
Fluminense has 43 points (ten wins, 13 draws and ten losses) and completed the day of number 33 in the twelfth position. However, the loss of two points was not the only loss in the game against the Thigh. Two of the team’s top players were given the third yellow card and could not play on Sunday. Suspended midfielder Sornoza and striker Henrique Dourado are suspended. In addition, the flurry Richard, injured, remains out of action. Coach Abel Braga did not say who the substitutes will be
There is still doubt about the condition of the right-back Lucas. The athlete left the game against Coritiba before the end because he was not feeling well. It is not known what the problem was. It will depend on an evaluation of the medical department to find out if it can enter the field. Renato, who would be the immediate substitute, is also injured and unable to act. Thus, the coach will have to improvise an athlete in the position or else resort to the base divisions if the holder is vetoed.
History of the bouts between Cruzeiro and Fluminense
There were 52 matches between the teams in Brasileirão. The tricolor won 19, the fox won 17 and the draws took place in 16 opportunities, including the 1 to 1 of the first round of the 2017 version of the competition.
Our Prediction: Cruzeiro win @ 1.66
