Sao Paulo enjoyed a stellar Brazilian Serie A season in 2020. They ended the campaign fourth and challenged for the title for much of the campaign, losing out by just five points to Flamengo.
Fluminense also enjoyed a good 2020 as they finished fifth in the standings. Just two points separated Fluminense from Sao Paulo in fourth place. On Saturday, whichever side takes max points will start the season off on the right foot with a win over a direct top-four rival.
Fluminense are coming off of a 3-1 win over River Plate in the Copa Libertadores. They should be buoyed going into the game on Saturday thanks to that Copa victory.
Sao Paulo are also coming off of a Copa Libertadores win. They defeated Sporting Cristal 3-0 in their final group stage fixture. Sao Paulo also claimed the Paulista state championship defeating rivals Palmeiras.
The Soberano won both matches versus Fluminense in 2020. The matches ended with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals tallied. Sao Paulo won the home fixture thanks to three second half goals from Brenner da Silva, Luciano Neves, and Vitor Bueno.
Sao Paulo won the second fixture of the 2020 campaign. Da Silva scored on either side of a Fred goal for Fluminense.
Fluminense were Serie A’s fifth-best away team in 2020. They posted a record of 7W-5D-7L and were outscored 28-24.
Meanwhile, Sao Paulo had the league’s fourth-best home points total. They outscored opponents 29-16 posting a brilliant record of 10W-7D-2L.
Sao Paulo are unbeaten in seven of the last 10 matches in Serie A versus Fluminense. Five of those seven games ended in victories.
Neves led Sao Paulo in scoring last season and got one of his goals versus Fluminense. He bagged 18 goals during the Serie A season. Brenner, who scored three times in two matches versus Fluminense, was sold in the offseason to FC Cincinnati for a fee of $15 million.
Brenner was brilliant along with Neves last term, scoring 11 goals in Serie A. Coach Hernan Crespo will need someone to step up to take Brenner’s place.
Crespo has two players on the injury list going into matchday 1. Dani Alves and Walce are both ruled out of the game. Alves’ injury will keep him out of the 2020 Copa America.
Sao Paulo won twice against Fluminense last term. They were head and shoulders better and should claim a third straight win.
Like the games in 2020, we should see both teams score and over 2.5 goals.