Both Botafogo and Fluminense head into this Sunday afternoon Brazilian top flight fixture at the Estádio Nilton Santos on the back of wins last time out in Serie A and with both sides sitting on the fringes of a possible top four spot, this looks like being a tightly fought encounter.
Botafogo sit in 7th place but are level on 18 points with their visitors, Fluminense, while both teams are just three points shy of the top four pack and a possible coveted place in next season’s Copa Libertadores.
Having registered recent back to back wins against Sao Paulo and Internacional, Botafogo will be seeking to achieve a third league win on the trot in Serie A for the first time since May 2019.
Although prior to these welcome wins, the hosts had struggled with a five-match winless run, losing four of these games.
Indeed, wins on home soil at their Estádio Nilton Santos have been at a premium with Botafogo securing just three victories from their last 17 matches with the possibility of a draw against Fluminense looking more likely as two of the last three meetings have ended in stalemate.
Fluminense also picked up all three points last time out in Serie A when they recorded a 2-0 home win over Avai.
But the visitors have also struggled for consistency in the Brazilian top flight as they have managed to collect just two wins out of their last six matches overall.
An earlier 5-3 home win against Atletico MG has been offset by recent defeats to Flamengo, Juventude and Atletico GO, while results away from home have also continued to produce a mixed bag of returns for Fluminense.
Wins on the road at Cuaiba and Fortaleza have been cancelled out by defeats incurred at Coritiba and Juventude along with being involved in two draws within their last six outings on their travels as well, picking up valuable points at league leaders, Palmeiras, in a commendable 1-1 draw along with a 0-0 stalemate at America Mineiro as well.
Therefore, both sides look fairly evenly matched ahead of this upcoming tussle on Sunday afternoon and the prospects of another draw look favourable with both teams looking to stake their claims for a possible top four finish.