On Thursday night, Ceara host Internacional at the Estadio Governador Placido Aderaldo Castelo, as both teams look to move closer to the Copa Libertadores berths in the Brazilian Serie A.
Ceara will still believe that they can make the Copa Libertadores qualifying spots, even if the automatic qualification spots may be slightly beyond them.
However, with games in hand on the teams above them, the home side could still have a chance of a top-six or even top finish this season.
Ceara’s recent form has really hampered their chances of featuring in the continent’s biggest competition next season. A 1-0 win over Chapecoense last time out ended a six-game winless streak for Tiago Nunes’ team in Serie A.
The game also saw them score for the first time in four matches in the Brazilian top-flight. Another positive is that they have now kept two straight clean sheets.
Ceara have been hard to beat on home soil of late, as they are now nine matches undefeated in Serie A in home matches.
A win would move Internacional into the league’s top-six and close to the automatic qualification spots for next season’s Copa Libertadores.
Diego Aguirre’s team suffered a setback in their top-four challenge last time out when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Atletico Mineiro. The defeat ended an eight-game unbeaten run in Serie A for the visitors.
The result also ended a run of clean sheets in the Brazilian top-flight, as Internacional had not conceded a goal in their previous four league matches.
Their stellar recent defensive record has led to low-scoring games of late in Serie A, as their previous five league games have all produced under 2.5 goals.
Forebet predicts that this clash will end in a low-scoring encounter, ending in a draw, which will do neither team’s hopes of continental next season much good.