Corinthians will entertain Juventude at the Corinthians Arena in Brazilian Serie A action on Saturday.
The home team suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of 17th-placed Cuiaba in their previous outing as they gave up the chance to extend their lead at the top of the standings. Palmeiras secured a 4-0 win over Botafogo and took pole position in the league and have a one-point lead over the hosts.
Juventude are second from the bottom in the league table and failed to build on their 1-0 win over Fluminense last Sunday and fell to a 3-1 defeat to Athletico Paranaense on Wednesday.
Corinthians vs Juventude Head-to-Head
This will be the 15th meeting between the two sides across all competitions since 2001. Surprisingly, Juventude have a better record in this fixture and enjoy a 6-3 lead in wins. The spoils have been shared five times between the two Southern Brazil rivals.
They last met at the Estádio Alfredo Jaconi in October, with the game ending in a 1-0 win for the then hosts.
Corinthians form guide (all competitions): L-W-D-D-D
Juventude form guide (all competitions): L-W-D-L-W
Corinthians vs Juventude Team News
Corinthians
Timao will remain without the services of Luan, as he continues to recover from a hip injury. Maycon took part in light training and his involvement in the game remains doubtful.
Willian, João Victor and Fagner have returned to training and are in contention to start here. Striker Jo's contract has been terminated by the club, possibly due to missing training last week.
Paulinho is a long-term absentee with an ACL injury, while Ruan Oliviera is not a part of head coach Vítor Pereira's plans currently.
Injured: Paulinho, Ruan Oliveira
Doubtful: Maycon
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Jo
Juventude
William Matheus and Rodrigo Soares return from their one-game suspensions and Felipe Alves is the only absentee with a calf injury.
Injured: Felipe Alves
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: None
Corinthians vs Juventude Predicted XIs
Corinthians (4-2-3-1): Cassio (GK); Rafael Ramos, Raul Gustavo, Gil, Fabio Santos; Renato Augusto, Du Queiroz; Roger Guedes, Willian, Adson; Junior Moraes
Juventude (4-2-3-1): Cesar Ribela (GK); Rodrigo Soares, Vitor Mendes, Rafael Forster, William Matheus; Oscar Ruiz, Yuri Oliveira Lima; Vitor Gabriel, Chico, Jadson; Isidro Pitta
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Corinthians vs Juventude Prediction
Juventude have the worst defensive record in the league, conceding 17 goals in 10 games while Corinthians have conceded nine goals in the same period. Corinthains' attacking output has taken a hit in recent fixtures as they have found the back of the net five times in their last six outings.
Given the home advantage for Corinthians and Juventude's poor form this term, a narrow win for the home team looks like the likely outcome of this match.
Predicition: Corinthians 1-0 Juventude