Leading off the 2017 season of the Brazilian Championship, Corinthians has its first match point on Wednesday, November 15. With four days left to finish the Brasileirão, he can secure the cup against Fluminense. The match, for the thirty-fifth round, will take place at 9:45 am (Brasília time) at Arena Itaquera, in São Paulo.
The recent performance of Corinthians
To guarantee the national heptacampeonato and to become the biggest seller of titles of the Brazilian Championship since the implantation of the system of points race, in 2003, with four bowls, Corinthians needs the victory. Only then could he celebrate the final whistle.
There is still the possibility that even with a draw or even defeat Timão will be the champion in this round. However, in this case, he can only celebrate on Thursday, November 16, and in case of stumble of Palmeiras, who still has a chance to reach 69 points, against Sport, also in São Paulo. Corinthians have 68 points (20 wins, eight draws and six losses).
To face the Rio trio, coach Fabio Carile can count on the return of striker J, the top scorer of the team in the competition with 16 goals scored. He can not play in the 1-0 victory on Saturday, November 11 at the Corinthians Arena, against Avaí. He was suspended. Released, resumes the vacancy in the team in place of Kazim, who was the scorer against the Santa Catarina.
However, the coach will have to deal with an embezzlement in defense. The defender Valbuena received the third yellow card and will not be able to face the Rio team. Pedro Henrique should win the opportunity to form area pair with Pablo.
Another drop will be in the goal. Cássio can not act because he has been called up to the Brazilian team’s friendly in preparation for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. His immediate reserve Walter entered against Atletico-PR in the thirty-third round and suffered a muscle injury. So, Caíque follows in the position.
The current form of Fluminense
If Corinthians are comfortably installed at the top of the leaderboard, the Fluminense fight is to escape relegation. On Sunday, November 12, the Rio team took 3 to 1 of Cruzeiro, in Belo Horizonte, and remained parked in the 43 points (ten wins, 13 draws and 11 losses). It occupies the fourteenth place in the classification.
You still need two more points to reach the 45 that are considered necessary to avoid falling. With four rounds remaining, the tricolor has seven points of advantage compared to Sport, seventeenth and first in the relegation zone.
To try to postpone the Corinthian title, coach Abel Braga can count on two reinforcements in comparison with the team that was defeated in Minas Gerais. Striker Henrique Dourado, the scorer of the Brasileirão with 17 goals, and midfielder Sornoza return to the team after being suspended due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
However, left-back Marlon is out of the blue. He has been expelled against the Cruzeiro and will have to comply with automatic suspension. For his place, Léo must be the chosen one. Dourado resumes the position that was given to Pedro and Sornoza should send Marlon Freitas to the reserve bench.
History of the bouts between Corinthians and Fluminense
Corinthians took the best in 19 of the 52 clashes they had with Fluminense in Brasileirão. The tricolors won 16 times. Ties were recorded on 17 occasions. In the first round of the 2017 edition of the tournament, the Corinthians scored 1-0 in Rio.
Much better organized tactically, working at home and wishing to celebrate the title before his fans, Corinthians is the best guessing option for this Wednesday’s showdown. It has a price of 1.61 in Bet365. Draw returns 3.75. Victory of the visitors yields 5.50 for each real bet.
