Portuguesa continues in the fight to move away from the general relegation zone of the Campeonato Paulista and at the same time, seeks to guarantee itself in the quarter-finals of Group A. Coming from two defeats, to Botafogo-SP and Palmeiras, Lusa seeks rehabilitation in home, in Canindé, against Mirassol, this Saturday, at 6pm. The rival, in turn, also needs to win again to stay alive in Group C.
Currently, despite being just two positions away from Paulistão’s general relegation zone, with seven points, Portuguesa appears within the Group A classification zone. Santos, already classified, leads with 19, while Ituano has six points and Santo André has five . In the last round, Lusa will face Novorizontino, away from home.
Mirassol has a campaign well above its opponents, but is outside the Group C classification zone. With 14 points and in third place, the team from the interior is fighting for a place against Inter de Limeira, who have the same score. With ten points, Corinthians has minimal chances of qualifying. Mirassol closes the first phase against São Bernardo next week.
One of the new features of Portuguesa is the return of coach Pintado himself, who was suspended in the last round and was unable to stay on the sidelines against Palmeiras. On the other hand, there are two absences due to suspension. Defender Patrick received a third yellow card and striker Victor Andrade was sent off. In defense, Marco Antônio has what it takes to form a defensive trio with Quintana and Robson. At the front, the doubt is between Paraízo and Maceió.
Regarding left-back Marquinhos Pedroso and striker Chrigor, who were released by the medical department for the physical transition, they should not yet be fit to play.
On the other hand, Mirassol had a whole week to recover its athletes and prepare for this game. That was precisely what coach Mozart mentioned at the end of the preparation.
“We have to make good on the fact that we had a whole week of training and rest and our opponent played in the middle of the week. Obviously it’s a small advantage, but it exists. We’re going to face a tough opponent who is under great pressure due to the issue of the classification. Therefore, we need patience. We have to be on an important technical day and what reassures me and gives me great confidence is our performance in the last games”, assessed the coach.
The commander has the return of right-back Warley, who also plays improvised on the left. He was suspended for the weekend’s match and should return in the place that belonged to Marcelo. Other than that, the base is the same as the last games.
DATASHEET:
PORTUGUESE
PORTUGUESE – Thomazella; Quintana, Robson and Marco Antônio; Douglas Borel, Ricardinho, Tauã, Eduardo Diniz and Giovanni Augusto; Paraizo (Felipe Marques) and Maceió. Technical: Painted.
MIRASSOL – Alex Muralha; Rodrigo Ferreira, Lucas Gazal, Luiz Otávio and Warley; Danielzinho, Chico Kim and Gabriel; Negueba, Fernandinho and Dellatorre. Coach: Mozart.
REFEREE – João Vitor Gobi.
TIME – 6pm
LOCATION – Canindé Stadium, in São Paulo (SP).