Sao Paulo entertain cross-city rivals Palmeiras at Morumbi on Sunday night as Matchday 10 of the Brazilian Serie A season draws to a close.
Heading into the weekend’s action, Sao Paulo occupy eighth place in the table - four points shy of second-placed Palmeiras.
O time da virada, o time do amor! 💚🐷#AvantiPalestra pic.twitter.com/dz8bwx8pm3— SE Palmeiras (@Palmeiras) June 8, 2023
O time da virada, o time do amor! 💚🐷#AvantiPalestra pic.twitter.com/dz8bwx8pm3
As for the visitors, they find themselves two points behind table-topping Botafogo thanks to an unbeaten start to the campaign.
Sao Paulo head into Sunday’s showdown on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Gremio, meaning they have lost each of their last two matches across all competitions.
Across April and May, Dorival Junior’s men enjoyed a 12-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, picking up eight wins and four draws along the way.
However, Sao Paulo’s domestic form has dipped this month, so the six-time Brazilian champions will be eager to get back on track as quickly as possible.
Fortunately for Sao Paulo, they have won all four of their home league games this season, scoring a combined total of 11 goals while keeping two clean sheets.
On the flip side, Palmeiras claimed a 4-2 victory over Barcelona SC in the Copa Libertadores in midweek, meaning they head into Sunday’s clash on a two-game winning streak.
In Serie A, Palmeiras are the only unbeaten team remaining this season, as they have won five and drawn four of their nine league encounters.
It is also worth noting that Palmeiras are the division’s top scorers, having netted 20 goals this term. On top of that, only three teams have conceded fewer goals.
Having lost just one of their last 18 matches in all competitions - picking up 12 wins in the process - Palmeiras will be difficult to beat on Sunday.
Head-to-head: Sao Paulo have only managed to win one of their previous six meetings with Palmeiras across all competitions, suffering three defeats in that time.
When it comes to Serie A, however, both sides have won two of the past eight meetings, playing out four draws between 2019 and 2022.
Team news: Sao Paulo’s lengthy injury list contains Joao Moreira, Andre Anderson, Igor Vinicius, Talles Costa, Welington, Erison, Andrei and Alexandre Pato.
Palmeiras, on the other hand, look set to be without the injured trio of Eduard Atuesta, Marcos Rocha and Murilo this weekend.
Given that four of the last eight Serie A meetings between Sao Paulo and Palmeiras have been drawn, Sunday’s clash will likely be a close-fought battle once again.
Forebet predicts that Sao Paulo and Palmeiras will dish up a low-scoring stalemate at Morumbi, with both teams netting under 1.5 goals.