Athletico Paranaense host newly-promoted America Mineiro on Sunday as the 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A season gets underway.
Athletico-PR finished ninth in the Brazilian top-flight last season – one point outside the top eight and 18 points behind first-place Flamengo.
Meanwhile, America-MG were promoted from Serie B after finishing second last term – level with first-place Chapecoense on 73 points.
It’s safe to say that Athletico PR endured an inconsistent 2020 campaign, having finished with a record of W15-D8-L15.
However, they enjoyed plenty of success at home last season – losing just one of their final nine home games in Serie A.
Athletico-PR head into the opening weekend of the 2021 campaign on a six-match unbeaten streak on home soil.
Trends also show that Athletico-PR have remained unbeaten at half-time in each of their previous 13 league games.
On the flip side, America Mineiro were promoted from Serie B last season – boasting an impressive record of W20-D13-L5.
They actually ended up with an identical record to champions Chapecoense, although they finished with a slightly worse goal difference.
America-MG struggled for goals at time last term, netting just 43 goals in 38 league matches throughout 2020.
However, the only conceded 23 goals in that time and finished the previous campaign with the second-best defensive record in the division.
Head-to-head: In their previous six meetings, Athletico-PR and America-MG have both won on three occasions.
But it is worth remembering that in their most recent meeting back in 2018, Athletico-PR crushed America-MG 4-0.
Team news: Athletico-PR have no injury concerns heading into the new season. Fabinho, Jorginho, Leo Gomes and Bissoli have all returned to the club during the off-season following loan spells.
America-MG also have no injury worries at the moment. Needless to say, the newcomers will be eager to make a big impression on the top-flight.
Given that America-MG have only recently been promoted, Athletico-PR are likely to come out on top when they host the Serie A newcomers.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Athletico-PR will claim an easy victory over the away side, with over 3.5 total goals exepcted.