Preview: Goias vs Ceara – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

Despite their positions in the bottom half of the Brasileiro, Goias and Ceara Go into their meet on Sunday with strong unbeaten runs.

The hosts leveled late at bottom Fortaleza midweek, while the visitors continued their good form by celebrating an impressive win at America Mineiro on Wednesday.

game preview

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After picking up just two points from five games without a win in the first four rounds of the 2022 Brasileiro season, Goias has since suffered just one defeat in the seven games that followed in all competitions.

Six of those encounters came in La Liga, three of which ended in victory to lift the hosts to 13th in the table on Sunday before Matchday 11.

As a result, the newly promoted face-off with Ceara this weekend will be full of confidence and in full swing after Thursday night’s dramatic clash in Fortaleza.

Despite their opponents sitting at the foot of the Brasileiro table, Goias started their journey as underdogs and were largely outplayed in the opening stages at the Estadio Castelao.

After the deserved 0-1 deficit in the first half Jair VenturaThe Barcelona side rallied during an improved second-half performance to snatch an equalizer four minutes from time Pedro Raúl.

Ventura will hope his side can use that enthusiasm to their advantage this weekend at the Estadio da Serrinha to continue their good form and move further from the relegation places in the first half of the season.

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Meanwhile, the visitor Ceara travels to Goias amid good form – a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

However, Ceara’s progress was halted after Flamengo rushed in to appoint their manager Dorval Junior on Friday after the dismissal of Paul Sousa at the giants.

As a result, a caretaker will remain in charge of the team for Sunday’s game, tasked with building on Junior’s good work at the club in recent months.

Under Junior, Ceara has reached the final rounds of the Copa Sudamericana after a 100 percent record in Group G, while he has also reached the last 32 of the Copa do Brasil after an impressive triumph over Red Bull Bragantino.

La Liga has seen multiple draws against Flamengo, Santos and Sao Paulo in recent weeks, with victories over Fortaleza and America Mineiro on Wednesday helping the side move up to 12th and level on points ahead of this weekend’s Matchday 11 to stay with the hosts from Sunday .

Though the visitors have their backs to the wall following the departure of their head coach, they will take great confidence from their division-leading away record during the 2022 Brasileiro campaign so far, as they have scored 11 of their 13 points on their trips so far. As a result, they remain a tricky opponent for Goias at the Estadio da Serrinha.

Form of Goias Brasileiro:

Goias form (all competitions):

Ceara Brasileiro Form:

Ceara Form (all competitions):

Team News

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A defensive 5-4-1 setup has worked wonders for Goias in recent weeks, so despite returning home in a winning game on Sunday, Ventura are unlikely to deviate too much from their winning formula.

With five goals in eight Brasileiro games this season, Raul is likely to be the only man in attack for Goias again.

Matthew Santos and Luis Filipe are out for the season due to serious knee injuries Diego and Hugo Doubts remain due to muscle and knee injuries.

With the guests it remains to be seen how many personnel and tactical changes the new caretaker will make on Sunday.

However, he is unlikely to stray too far from Junior’s successful 4-3-3 formation of recent weeks, which has brought so much success during their unbeaten streak.

However, the trip to Goias with right-back might require a change at full-back Nino Paraiba being coerced with a knock late midweek.

Up to six other players are also listed as questionable due to various injuries Richard, Buiu, Luis Otavio, dentinho, Leo Raphael and Vinicius Lima all struggling after recent absences.

Goia’s possible starting line-up:
tadeu; Maguinho, Sidnei, Reynaldo, Caetano, Belmonte; Sales, Junqueira, Bastos, Vinicius; Raul

Cear possible starting line-up:
Ricardo; Macedo, Messiah, Lacerda, Pacheco; Sobral, Lindoso, Coelho; Vina, Cleber, Mendoza

We say: Goias 1-1 Ceara

With both sides having narrowly recorded positive results in recent weeks, it’s likely to be a close meeting between the two on Sunday.

As a result, we can see that Goias and Ceara cancel each other out to graduation level with very little separating these two sides on paper and also in terms of recent excellent form.

For a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, goal scores and more for this game, please click here.

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