Atletico Goianiense will be aiming to move off the bottom of the Brazilian Serie A table when they visit the Maracana to face Fluminense on Wednesday.
Fluminense come into this game in fourth place – six points ahead of Atletico GO – having won three of their previous four games.
It’s fair to say that the Rio de Janeiro outfit didn’t get off to the best of starts this term. After losing to Gremio on the opening day, Fluminense could only manage a draw with Palmeiras on Matchday 2.
However, Fluminense quickly turned things around with victories over Internacional, Athletico-PR and Vasco da Gama.
It is no secret that Fluminense are extremely strong on home soil. The Rio club are unbeaten in their previous eight Serie A home games and have only lost one of their previous 13.
On the other hand, Atletico GO have started the season in poor fashion. The they have only managed to win one of their five league games this term.
Four points from a possible 15 mean Atletico GO are rock bottom of the table, and they also possess the second-worst defensive record in the division.
Atletico claimed a shock 3-0 victory over Flamengo on the opening day of the season. But after drawing with Sport Recife on Matchday 2, they have lost three straight games to Internacional, Goias and Ceara.
O #TimeDeGuerreiros se apresentou nesta segunda, no CT Carlos Castilho, e começou a preparação para o jogo contra o Atlético-GO!📸: Lucas Merçon/FFC pic.twitter.com/TgzzigHs7y— Fluminense F.C. (@FluminenseFC) August 31, 2020
O #TimeDeGuerreiros se apresentou nesta segunda, no CT Carlos Castilho, e começou a preparação para o jogo contra o Atlético-GO!📸: Lucas Merçon/FFC pic.twitter.com/TgzzigHs7y
Not only have Atletico lost each of their previous three games, but they have lost them without scoring a single goal along the way.
And to make matters worse for Atletico, they have conceded at least two goals in each of their last three Serie A outings.
Head-to-head: Atletico GO have only managed to win two of their previous eight games against Fluminense, with their last victory in this fixture coming all the way back in 2012.
The two sides last played in the same division in 2017. Fluminense clamed a 3-1 home victory that year before the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture.
Team news: Neither manager has any fresh injury concerns heading into Wednesday’s clash, so both sides will be full strength.
Fluminense are already a fair way ahead of Atletico GO in the table, and their lead is expected to grow this week with a comfortable victory.
Both teams have scored in four of Fluminense’s last five league games, so both teams are expected to get on the scoresheet on Wednesday.
However, Forebet predicts that Fluminense will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory.