The season in the Brazilian Campeonato A is back in full swing and reigning champions Palmeiras continue where they left off last season. Apart from the reigning champion, teams like Atletico MG, Corinthians and Sao Paulo did not start badly. The latter will meet Cruzeiro on Sunday evening in front of their home crowd and will be back on the road to success after two winless league games.
After the unfortunate end of the season last year, the “Tricolor” from Sao Paulo wants to start this season. After the missed qualification for the Copa Libertadores, Sao Paulo also prematurely said goodbye to the cup competition. The change of coach at the end of April did not really bring about the desired change, which is why the pressure on Coach Cuca is growing. Only one of the last five competitive games could win the “Tricolor”. Will Sao Paulo vs. Cruzeiro make a prediction on the home side? On Sunday evening, the match will rise at 20:00 CET at the Estadio do Morumbi in Sao Paulo!
Sao Paulo:
In Brazil, FC Sao Paulo has long been the figurehead of international competitions. With twelve international titles, the “Tricolor” leads the statistics in Brazil, but lately lagged behind the expectations. After the bad finish of the season last year, Sao Paulo had to qualify for the Copa Libertadores and dropped out there without singing and sounding against Talleres Cordoba. Also in the state championship at the beginning of the year there was a major setback. In the final, the “Tricolor” could not prevail against Corinthians in “Classico Majestoso” and lost the state championship title. After the weak performances in this calendar year, however, the FC Sao Paulo acted quickly and brought with Cuca a new coach on board. After a successful debut, the euphoria seems to have disappeared under the new coach, especially as the “Tricolor” could not win four competitive games in a row. Recently, the Cuca Elf was eliminated in the Copa do Brasil of Bahia. There is not much room left for the current coach of the “Tricolor”.
In front of home crowd, the game against the form weak team from Cruzeiro must be won. With Lucao, Rojas, Pablo, Biro and Liziero Cuca will be missing five players in the home game on the weekend. Striker Alexandre Pato is the most valuable player in the squad of “Tricolor”. In his first five appearances Pato but could only achieve a single hit so far. After the opening success over Botafogo Sao Paulo played last two times in a row home draw. Already last year, the “Tricolor” in the Campeonato A was one of the strongest home teams in the league and lost only one of the 19 home games. After the weak performances in the recent competitive games Cuca will be under pressure.
Cruzeiro:
For the reigning cup winner of the “Copa do Brasil” 2018, the new calendar year started quite solid. At the beginning of the year, Cruzeiro won the state championship title in the Campeonato Mineiro and easily prevailed as group winners in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. In the recent form-low, however, the “Raposa” last but five games in a row winless. Away, there were three defeats in the Campeonato A, in which a total of ten goals conceded. After the rather bad start to the season in the Campeonato A Cruzeiro wants to score in the “Tricolor” from Sao Paulo. Really much speaks at Sao Paulo vs. Cruzeiro for a forecast on the guests not, especially since Cruzeiro last year was not convincing on foreign terrain. The Campeonato A season 2018 finished with an away balance of 3-7-9 and a goal difference of 9:20. The trend from the previous year is now continuing this season. No other Brazilian team conceded more goals than Cruzeiro in the opening six games of the season opener at Campeonato A.
The most valuable player in the “Raposa” squad is Rodriguinho, who joined FC Pyramids in the winter break. Coach Mano Menezes relies on experienced Brazilian striker Fred in his 4-1-4-1 system, who has not yet scored in his previous league appearances but was highly effective in the Copa Libertadores. In the South American premier class Fred was able to score five goals in four goals and also recorded two assists. Cruzeiro does not complain of injury-related defeats in the away game against Sao Paulo. It remains to be seen if Menezes will risk changes in the starting lineup after the recent negative trend.
PREDICTION: Sao Paulo to win @ 2,10
