Round 8 of the 2022 Brazilian Serie A season gets underway on Saturday, with Goias and Red Bull Bragantino kicking off the action in Goiania.
Both sides find themselves in the bottom half of the table, with fifteenth-place Goias trailing thirteenth-place Red Bull Bragantino by one point.
Having made a slow to the new season, both Goias and Bragantino will be eager to kick-start their campaign this weekend.
Goias have only managed to win two of their seven Serie A matches this term, registering two draws and three losses along the way.
Only two sides – Athletico-PR and Fortaleza – have suffered more defeats than Goias since the start of the season.
It is also worth noting that only one side – Juventude – have conceded more goals than Goias this year, highlighting their defensive frailties.
That said, Goias have lost just one of their previous four Serie A games. After drawing with Atletico Mineiro, they beat Atletico Goianiense and Santos before losing to Flamengo.
Each of Goias’ previous three games have produced exactly one goal, meaning Saturday’s clash is likely to be a low-scoring encounter.
As for RB Bragantino, they have also won two of their seven league games this term – recording three draws and two losses in the process.
That means only six teams have suffered fewer losses than Bragantino this year, including all of the top five sides.
Bragantino head into Saturday’s clash on a three-game winless run in Serie A, having registered one draw and two losses since their last victory.
It is also worth pointing out that Bragantino have managed to win just one of their previous ten away games in the league.
Head-to-head: Last month, Bragantino claimed a 2-1 victory over Goias in the Copa do Brasil – extending their unbeaten run to three games in this fixture.
Four of the past six meetings between Goias and Bragantino across all competitions have dished up under 2.5 goals.
Team news: Goias will be without the injured duo of Vinicius (hamstring) and Luiz Filipe (cruciate ligament) on Saturday.
Bragantino have no injury concerns, meaning head coach Mauricio Barbieri has a full-strength squad to choose from.
Given the recent low-scoring nature of this nature, Goias and Bragantino look set to play out a low-scoring clash on Saturday.
Forebet predicts that Goias and Bragantino will dish up a low-scoring stalemate, with both sides netting under 1.5 goals.