Preview: Ceara vs. Atletico Goianiense - prediction, team news, lineups

The teams meet at Castelao, having endured mixed fortunes in the Copa do Brasil earlier this week, as the hosts were beaten by their local rivals and Atletico drew at home.

Match preview

Taking on their bitterest foes Fortaleza in the first leg of their Copa do Brasil last-16 clash, Ceara saw a 12-game unbeaten streak in all competitions ended on Wednesday, amid crowd trouble at Castelao.

Eliminated from the cup by their city rivals a year ago, the Alvinegro were unable to take revenge, and have plenty of hard work to do in next month's second leg; trailing by two goals.

Under new coach Marquinhos Santos, Ceara are yet to record a victory, and since replacing Flamengo-bound Dorival Junior, his side have posted successive goalless draws in Serie A.

After previously restricting reigning champions Atletico Mineiro to a point, last weekend's 0-0 result against Cuiaba and another blank in midweek means that they are without a goal in over 300 minutes of football.

Ceara may occupy a modest 13th place in the standings, but remain just two points adrift of a top-six place. However, the congested nature of the table after 13 rounds sees them hold only the same advantage over the bottom four.

Also on a tally of 16 points so far, Atletico Goianiense sit just above Sunday's opponents in the table, but arrive in Fortaleza having won three of their last four league games.

Last week's 3-1 win over 10-man strugglers Juventude followed victories against Avai and Fluminense, with a defeat to league leaders Palmeiras sandwiched in between.

After a year away from the club, Jorginho stepped back into the dugout as Atletico's head coach in May, and the former World Cup winner's influence has led to an upturn in fortunes.

Since the sacking of Umberto Louzer, things have progressed along a more positive trajectory at the club, and Jorginho's side have lost just two of their last seven league matches.

In addition to securing progress to the knockout stage of the Copa Sudamericana, their midweek draw with local rivals Goias in the Copa do Brasil sees them still in contention for a quarter-final spot in that competition.

However, a slow start to the 2022 campaign leaves Atletico amid the thick of a tightly-packed lower section of the Serie A standings, and they will need to continue their recent improvement to surpass last term's ninth-placed league finish.

Ceara Brasileiro form:

Ceara form (all competitions):

Atletico Goianiense Brasileiro form:

Atletico Goianiense form (all competitions):

Team News

Ceara are poised to make changes following their cup defeat in midweek, and the regular midfield trio of Richard Coelho, Richardson and Rodrigo Lindoso should be reunited in the Brasileiro, after the former missed the draw with Cuiaba due to suspension.

Fernando Sobral could therefore make way from the side that started last weekend, but the hand of Marquinhos Santos may be forced into keeping faith in Cleber up front - despite his side's worrying goal drought.

Former Shaktar Donetsk forward Dentinho (thigh) and well-travelled striker Jael (Achilles) remain absent through injury, joining midfielder Leo Rafael on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Atletico still have concerns about the fitness of defensive duo Wanderson and Dudu this weekend, with the latter yet to fully recover from an ankle issue.

Arthur Henrique returns from a ban, though, and will compete with Jefferson for a start at left-back. Striker Wellington Rato should continue to play out wide on Sunday, with Diego Churin and Luiz Fernando also likely to feature in the visitors' attacking trident.

Ceara possible starting lineup:

Ricardo; Kelvyn, Messias, Otavio, Pacheco; Richard, Lindoso, Richardson; Vina, Cleber, Lima

Atletico Goianiense possible starting lineup:

Ronaldo; Hayner, Noga, Edson, Henrique; Freitas, Baralhas; Rato, Jorginho, Airton; Churin

We say: Ceara 1-2 Atletico Goianiense

An insubstantial attacking threat could undermine Ceara's hopes of picking up a precious home win, and their opponents are in the form to capitalise.

Though undefeated in nine Brasileiro matches, the hosts' run must come to an end if they cannot start finding the net more regularly, and an improving Atletico are set to be the beneficiaries.

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