There’s further action from the Brazilian top flight this weekend and the slate of fixtures feature the clash between bottom half outfit, Sao Paulo, and high-flying Fortaleza, when the two teams meet at the Morumbi Stadium on Saturday evening.
Following a rather barren spell which saw Sao Paulo fail to win any of their preceding seven matches in all competitions (which consisted of four draws and three defeats), Saturday’s hosts have since responded in encouraging fashion with two wins and a draw.
🎥 BASTIDORES DO CAMPEÃO!Tá preparado para se emocionar? Então, corre para ver os bastidores do título do @Paulistao, com imagens exclusivas, a festa no vestiário, e o olhar sempre apurado da #SPFCtv!Assista já: https://t.co/J8rEIwcZU8#1NovoTempo#VamosSãoPaulo 🇾🇪 pic.twitter.com/wS9uNfW72T— São Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC) May 26, 2021
🎥 BASTIDORES DO CAMPEÃO!Tá preparado para se emocionar? Então, corre para ver os bastidores do título do @Paulistao, com imagens exclusivas, a festa no vestiário, e o olhar sempre apurado da #SPFCtv!Assista já: https://t.co/J8rEIwcZU8#1NovoTempo#VamosSãoPaulo 🇾🇪 pic.twitter.com/wS9uNfW72T
Recent back-to-back wins in Serie A against Internacional 2-0 away from home and a 1-0 home win against Bahia have helped lift Sao Paulo away from the early relegation zone and up into a more respectable looking 14th place on the domestic top flight ladder.
Sao Paulo also drew 1-1 at home with Argentinian side, Racing Club, in their midweek Copa Libertadores tie, so the hosts will be in reasonably confident mood that they can get a result here on Saturday.
Leo is suspended, Daniel Alves is on international duty while Eder is a doubt after picking up a knock.
Fortaleza currently sit in 4th place in the Serie A standings after they too, recorded back-to-back wins in the domestic top flight with victories gained over America Mineiro and Corinthians respectively.
These two wins would have been a welcome relief for Fortaleza as the visitors had previously managed to pick up just the one win from their preceding six matches which came in the form of a 3-2 home win against second from bottom side, Chapecoense.
However, Fortaleza owe much to their form on home turf at their Estádio Governador Plácido Aderaldo Castelo for their current league position as five of their six wins to date this season have been achieved at home.
Meanwhile, results away from home have been less convincing as Fortaleza have collected just one win from their opening five games on their travels which was a 2-1 win at Atletico MG in their opening away game of the season but they’ve since slumped to four matches without a win on the road.
The bigger picture shows that Fortaleza have won just one of their last 12 away matches in Serie A, while the visitors will also be without defender Felipe (suspended), midfielder Jussa and striker Wellington Paulista.
This is expected to be a tightly fought encounter and few goals are expected with both defences coming out on top.