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Sao Paulo will host Atletico Goianiense at the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium on Thursday night in the second leg of their Copa Sudamericana semifinal.
The hosts are in poor form at the moment. They lost the first leg 3-1, conceding two second-half goals after Igor Gomes received a red card for two bookable offenses before the interval.
Sao Paulo are on the hunt for their first Copa Sudamericana title since 2012 but now need a dramatic comeback on home turf to keep their continental ambitions alive.
Atletico, meanwhile, have also had their struggles of late but returned to winning ways in the first leg. Jorginho opened the scoring for the Dragao before Shaylon and Leo Pereira came off the bench to wrap up a clinical win.
The visitors are closing in on their first Copa Sudamericana final appearance and only need to avoid defeat this week to do so.
Sao Paulo vs Atletico Goianiense Head-to-Head
Thursday's game will mark the 15th meeting between Sao Paulo and Atletico. The hosts have won six of their previous matchups, while Atletico have won one fewer. There have been three draws between the two teams.
Sao Paulo Form Guide (all competitions): D-L-L-L-L
Atletico Goianiense Form Guide (all competitions): L-W-L-D-L
Sao Paulo vs Atletico Goianiense Team News
Sao Paulo
The hosts have a fairly lengthy list of absentees, including Luan, Nikao, Miranda, Caio Matheus and Robert Arboleda, who are all injured. Igor Gomes received a red card in the first leg and is suspended. Andre Anderson has been out of action since July and could sit this one out.
Injured: Luan, Nikao, Miranda, Caio Matheus, Robert Arboleda
Doubtful: Andre Anderson
Suspended: Igor Gomes
Unavailable: None
Atletico Goianiense
Ramon Menezes, Ronaldo and Emerson Santos are all injured, while Camutanga and Willian Maranhao are unavailable, as the duo are unregistered for the competition.
Injured: Ramon Menezes, Ronaldo, Emerson Santos
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Camutanga, Willian Maranhao
Sao Paulo vs Atletico Goianiense Predicted XIs
Sao Paulo (3-1-4-2): Jandrei; Diego Costa, Leo, Welington; Gabriel Neves; Reinaldo, Rodrigo Nestor, Pablo Maia, Igor Vinicius; Luciano, Jonathan Calleri
Atletico Goianiense (4-3-3): Renan; Dudu, Wanderson, Klaus, Arthur Henrique; Baralhas, Edson Fernando; Marlon Freitas, Jorginho, Wellington Rato; Diego Churin
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Sao Paulo vs Atletico Goianiense Prediction
The Soberano played out a 1-1 draw against Cuiaba in their Brasileiro Serie A game last weekend, marking their sixth straight winless outing across competitions.
Atletico Goianiense are not in much better form either, winning just one of their last six games. Their healthy first leg result should, however, see them advance to the final.
Prediction: Sao Paulo 1-1 Atletico Goianiense
