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Atletico Mineiro will travel to Fortaleza on Wednesday, where they'll face 11th-placed Santos at the Castelão in a Brazilian Serie A fixture.
Atletico Mineiro played out a 1-1 draw against Santos in their previous outing, dropping points for the third game in a row. They dropped to sixth place in the league standings after the game and are now five points behind league leaders Palmeiras.
Ceara are undefeated in their last seven league games, of which five have ended in draws, including their last game against Goias. They are winless at home this season and will be looking to change that stat against the struggling visiting side.
Ceara vs Atletico Mineiro Head-to-Head
The two sides have crossed paths 12 times across all competitions thus far. Atletico Mineiro have a narrow lead in this fixture, having secured five wins against their northern rivals.
Ceara are not far behind with four wins to their name while three games have ended in draws. Both teams secured a win in their home fixtures last season, so Ceara will be hoping for a positive outcome on Wednesday.
They last met in a league fixture in October, with the game ending in a 3-1 win for Galo.
Ceara form guide (all competitions): D-W-D-W-D
Atletico Mineiro form guide (all competitions): D-L-D-W-L
Ceara vs Atletico Mineiro Team News
Ceara
Vozão will play their first game under new manager Marquinhos Santos and will not be able to count on the services of Luiz Otávio and Lima, as they are currently injured. Goalkeeper Richard also remains sidelined with an injury.
João Ricardo and Bruno Pacheco will serve a one-game suspension, with the former picking up his third yellow card of the campaign and Pacheco being red-carded in the previous outing.
Injured: Luiz Otávio, Lima, Richard
Doubtful: None
Suspended: João Ricardo, Bruno Pacheco
Unavailable: None
Atletico Mineiro
A piece of good news for the reigning champions is that Nathan Silva and Eduardo Vargas will return from suspensions and injury spells respectively. Vargas returns from a lengthy spell on the sidelines and is unlikely to start here.
Matias Zaracho remains sidelined with a thigh injury while Dodo is in the final stage of recovery from a knee injury. Midfielders Allan and Jair are suspended here while Savinho tested positive for COVID-19 and is ruled out for the match.
Igor Rabello has been released to attend to his son's birth.
Injured: Matias Zaracho, Dodo
Doubtful: Guilherme Arana, Eduardo Vargas
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Diego Godin, Savinho, Igor Rabello
Ceara vs Atletico Mineiro Predicted XIs
Ceara (4-3-3): Vinicius Machado (GK); Michel Macedo, Messias, Gabriel Lacerda, Victor Luis; Richardson, Fernando Sobral, Richard; Iury, Cléber, Stiven Mendoza.
Atletico Mineiro (4-2-3-1): Everson (GK); Guga, Junior Alonso, Réver, Guilherme Arana; Otávio, Guilherme Castilho; Eduardo Sasha, Ignacio Fernandez, Sávio; Hulk.
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Ceara vs Atletico Mineiro Prediction
Ceara have the worst home record in the Brazilian top-flight at the moment, picking up just two points on their own turf. Atletico Mineiro head into this game in poor form and are dealing with some notable absentees in the squad.
Taking the form of the two sides into consideration, it is likely that the game will end in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Ceara 1-1 Atletico Mineiro
