Sports Mole preview Monday’s Brasileiro clash between Sao Paulo and Palmeiras, including predictions, team news and possible line-ups.
One of the fiercest rivalries in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A takes place on Monday Sao Paulo host Palmeiras at Cierco Pompeu de Toledo in the first choque-rei derby of the season.
Verdao are top of the table and unbeaten in their last 18 games in all competitions, while Sao Paulo fell further behind in an attempt to catch them on Thursday, drawing Botafogo 1-0.
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game preview
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A failed away win in this domestic competition has kept Sao Paulo from fighting for the title, currently seven points adrift of first place following this week’s defeat.
Unlike their rivals Palmeiras, Tricolor Paulista like to have possession and build up from behind, but this didn’t always produce the desired results as they only managed two shots on target against Botafogo despite having possession for 68% of the game.
With her road record handicapping her, Rogerio Cenis side had to be near perfect at home to remain top of the table and they have had better results at Morumbi, unbeaten domestically this season, winning four of their five games played there.
A crucial part of this team’s success at their famous stadium was their ability to start quickly and get their fans involved, opening the game in all but one of their home games, with three of their first goals coming before the 20-minute mark. brand fell .
São Paulo have not beaten a home rival at home in this competition since 2017, despite going unbeaten in their last four domestic encounters.
This club’s defense relies heavily on covering plenty of space at range while adding an extra dimension to their counterattacking play, making them a dangerous team to contend with in transition situations.
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Since a surprise 3-2 loss to Ceara in the Serie A opener earlier this year Abel Ferreira and his side were on the warpath, aiming to destroy anyone who stood in their way.
Since that blemish, they have only allowed multiple goals in one competition, although Palmeiras still comfortably beat Atletico Goianiense 4-2 on Thursday.
Ferreira would like his players to sit back with a more passive approach and wait until the halfway line before defending with much more urgency.
While this tactic could make it easier for their opponents to get into Palestra’s third court, there are rarely many big scoring chances in their penalty area, with Verdao conceding the fewest goals after 12 games this season (seven).
Their compact center block system was a handful for other teams to get used to, with Palmeiras getting their share of turnovers while being particularly effective at pressurizing goal kicks.
They are not a team based heavily on possession, but aim to get the ball on the field as quickly as possible, often catch their opponents off guard with this style and have the highest number of domestic goals in 2022 (23).
São Paulo Brasileiro form:
São Paulo Form (all competitions):
Palmeira’s Brasileiro form:
Palmeiras form (all competitions):
Team News
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Gabriel Sarah and Luciano scored the only goals in the last home game against Palmeiras and won 2-0 as a former first-choice goalkeeper Tiago Volpi made four saves to concede the goal.
Sarah and Nikao do not compete with ankle injuries, Alison has a sprained knee and Andres Colorado has a thigh problem.
Jandre has conceded two goals at home for Sao Paulo so far this year and Jonathan Calleri still leads Serie A with nine goals despite failing to find the net in his last two games.
A bracket out Gustave Gomez and goals through Ze Raffael and Gustave Scarpa helped them overtake Atletico Goianiense earlier this week as the Paraguayan captain is now just a point behind rony for the first in the team.
Marco Rocha and Raphael Veiga are out with hamstring injuries, prison won’t be returning this season after torn his cruciate ligament and George is not expected back until next month at the earliest due to knee problems.
Weverton was seeing his six-game shutout streak Thursday when his teammate snapped luan scored an own goal in the 29th minute, although he’s still top of the table with six goals conceded.
Sao Paulo possible starting line-up:
Jandre; lion, arboleda, costa; Reinaldo, Nestor, Gomes, Nikao; Patrick; Calleri, Luciano
Palmeira’s possible starting line-up:
Weverton; Gomez, Luan, Murilo, Piquerez; Danilo, ZeRafael; Lopes, Scarpa, Wesley; rony
We say: Sao Paulo – Palmeiras 1:1
Even with a short break, neither side should struggle to muster the intensity needed to play in this encounter knowing the rivalry between these two clubs.
Palmeiras seems determined to win everything this year but Sao Paulo have shown tremendous resilience after defeat and defended Palestra well at home, conceding a goal or fewer in their last three home games against them.
For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, goal scores and more for this game, please click here.
top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com predict under 2.5 goals in this game. Click here to find out what else they predict for this game and for more of their football best tips.Under 2.5:Data