Fluminense hosts Cruzeiro in the first leg of Copa do Brasil 1/8 finals. The match will be played on Thursday, May 16th at Maracanã (Rio de Janeiro)
In 4 of the last 5 matches, Fluminense left the field defeated. In particular, it lost in the cup (0:2) to Santa Cruz from the 3rd division. It was a comeback after 2:0 at Maracana, and Fluminense won a ticket to the key stage of the tournament only in penalty kicks lottery. The other 4 defeats happened in Serie A, where an exciting match with Gremio was the only exception in the series of failures. After 22 minutes of that match, Fluminense was losing 3: 0, but in the end, it stunned its opponent with a victory - 4: 5. It is early to draw some conclusions about the strength of Fluminense in terms of starting 15th place in the Serie A standings. Without achieving results, the club did not earn money. Last year’s getting into the Sudamericana finals was something phantasmagoric, especially in the light of offensive toothlessness. The management decided to trust Diniz, who practices total football, and the red spots of losses do not correspond to the current game of the team. It looked better in the away match with Goias (1: 0 but simply didn’t have enough luck. In the match with Botafogo (0:1), the excessive interference of erroneous arbitral decisions spoiled the game - the goal, which allowed tying a draw, was called off. Such results can’t cause the delight of the fans. It is obvious that the bad days will be followed by bright days. The coach of Fluminense, who is not distracted by the participation of his team in international tournaments, has to follow his way. The regular squad will be kept, and the return of midfielder Ganso and the best striker Pedro will even strengthen it.
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Cruzeiro is the current holder of the Brazilian Cup. Without reaching the finishing stages of Copa Libertadores, coach Menezes kept the club financially afloat only due to victories in the national cup. He is at the helm again, but this time, he managed to achieve better results in the group stage of CL. Until the last round, when his team lost to Emelec (1:2). Menezes got us used to away victories like 0:1, organizing a reliable defense and successfully playing in counterattacks, but his method failed. And it's not just about the last match of Copa Libertadores. The team ranks 11th in Serie A, and it earned 6 points only in home matches. Cruzeiro defeated not the strongest rivals, Ceara (1:0) and Goias (2:1), without showing the usual reliable game in defense. Moreover, the away matches of Raposa ended in defeats, even though Menezes did not use the reserve squad in them. First, his team lost to Flamengo (3:1), then to Inter (also 3:1).
After the dismal game in Porto Alegre, the coach of the upcoming visitors is expected to make changes to the lineup. Menezes keeps his ideas under his hat, because Cruzeiro is the favorite of the confrontation and the entire tournament. The away team has a better-qualified squad than that of Fluminense, but this advantage will be downplayed by the obvious difference in football demonstrated by the teams. Cruzeiro conceded rather often, while Fluminense shows interesting and aggressive football. Each team is able to benefit from this meeting, so I predict an exchange of goals.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score - yes
