Botafogovs.Bragantino

The home side are winless in their last two games, while the visitors returned to winning ways last time out.

Match preview

Five games after losing to Bahia in May, Botafogo suffered another defeat on Saturday, this time to newly-promoted Criciuma, marking their third league defeat of the season.

The surprising 2-1 loss saw them surrender top spot to their biggest rivals Flamengo, dropping them down to fourth place with 21 points after 11 matches played.

Artur Jorge's men have been defensively leaky recently, conceding in three consecutive league matches. This is a far cry from the defence that kept three consecutive clean sheets across all competitions prior to that.

However, Fogo will have reasons to be confident heading into their next game against Bragantino. The hosts have dominated this fixture and are unbeaten in the last six meetings, which included four wins and two draws.

Anything but a win on Wednesday would see the two-time Brasileiro champions fail to win in three consecutive matches for the first time since April, when they lost three straight games.

After their defeat against Palmeiras, Bragantino bounced back with a 2-1 victory over Vitoria on Sunday, courtesy of goals from Eric Ramires and Helinho, completing a comeback after going behind earlier in the game.

With 18 points from 11 matches, Pedro Caixinha's men climbed to sixth in the Serie A standings and could now enter the top four if they win on Wednesday, while other results go their way.

Bragantino have now alternated between losses and wins in their last six matches, and have only won two straight matches once in Serie A this season, which was back in April against Vasco and Corinthians.

Braga's away form has not been great this season, with just one win in five away matches, while losing two of the last three. This becomes even more concerning for Caixinha, as the Sao Paulo club have lost five of the six games they have played as visitors in this tie.

Botafogo Brasileiro form:

D

W

W

W

D

L

Botafogo form (all competitions):

D

W

W

W

D

L

Bragantino Brasileiro form:

L

W

L

W

L

W

Bragantino form (all competitions):

D

W

L

W

L

W

Team News

Botafogo will be missing Jefferson Savarino, who is away on international duty with Venezuela at the Copa America.

Rafael da Silva is sidelined with a knee injury until later this month, while Jeffinho, Pablo and Junior Santos are all dealing with thigh issues.

Bragantino will be missing right-back Jose Hurtado, who is currently with the Ecuador national team at the ongoing Copa America.

On the injury front, Brazilian midfielder Nathan Camargo continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Veteran striker Eduardo Sasha will lead the line once again with Vitinho and Helinho offering support from the flanks.

Botafogo possible starting lineup:

Victor; Ponte, Barboza, Bastos, Cuiabano; Gregore, Romero, Tche; Santos, Soares, Henrique

Bragantino possible starting lineup:

Schwengber; Jadsom, Candido, Henrique, Capixaba; Raul, Ramires, Evangelista; Helinho, Sasha, Vitinho

We say: Botafogo 1-0 Bragantino

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