In the penultimate round of the Brazilian championship, two of the three teams with the longest unbeaten streak will face off in Mineirão, today, at 7:30 p.m. Botafogo, which has not lost in eight matches (four wins and four draws), will face the difficult task of facing Cruzeiro, which has not been defeated in 11 rounds (four wins and seven draws). Fortaleza completes the hat-trick by finishing its eighth match unbeaten yesterday, with a 2-1 win over Corinthians.
While Raposa arrives without pressure, as he is no longer competing for the title and has already secured a direct place in the group stage of the Libertadores Cup, the white and black team is looking for a victory to continue the struggle for fifth place, to also guarantee the direct classification of the continental competition.
The final round promises excitement
Botafogo occupies seventh place, two points behind Fluminense and one point behind Bahia, which beat Sport 2-0 yesterday at the Fonte Nova stadium, and Botafogo advances to fifth place if they win. If you lose, you see the chance of a G5 finish. Defeat today, or Sunday, against Fortaleza, makes Bahia or Fluminense superior to them mathematically, as the two teams face each other in the final round, and at least one of them will score.
Today’s draw forces the black and white team to win their last match, and hopes for a tie between the Rio and Bahia trio.
In fact, the final round promises excitement, as Botafogo will face Fortaleza, at Nilton Santos Stadium, on Sunday, at 4pm. Fighting not to go down, the NorthEast team has a run of five straight wins and needs a win to avoid relying on other results.
Today, against Cruzeiro, the difficulty that the black and white team will have to overcome is the poor record against the opponent: Botafogo has not defeated Minas Gerais since 2016, when they won 2-0, with goals from Canales and Camilo. Since then, the team has played 15 matches, including five defeats and 10 draws. In fact, Cruzeiro has the longest unbeaten streak against Botafogo among Primera Division clubs.
The Rio team will be able to count on the return of injured strikers Chris Ramos and Nathan Fernandez to the field, as well as the suspended right-back Vitinho.
Yesterday, the club issued a statement warning that midfielders Joaquin Correa and Savarino were injured (with unspecified muscle injuries); Defender Barboza (knee strain); Goalkeeper Leo Link (suffered by tonsil abscess) will not be able to play.
Raul, who became the fourth goalkeeper this season, should be the starter. Santi Rodriguez, Matteo Ponte and Givinho will also miss the match through suspension. The goalkeeper has not played since a 1-0 defeat to Capital DF, away from home, in the Brazilian Cup, in May.