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Sao Paulo will host Ceara at the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium on Wednesday in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana quarterfinal tie.
The home side have struggled to impress in their league assignments this season but have found a lot of joy on the continental stage. They breezed through the group stages, picking up five wins and a draw before obliterating Chilean powerhouse Universidad Catolica in the last 16 of the competition with a 8-3 aggregate victory.
Sao Paulo will be targeting a positive result on home turf this week to put them in a strong position to advance as they seek their first continental triumph in a decade.
Like their hosts, Ceara have enjoyed a stellar Copa Sudamericana campaign this season despite sitting in the bottom half of the Brasileiro Serie A standings. They had an impeccable run in the group stages, picking up six wins from six and then faced The Strongest in the last 16, winning 5-1 on aggregate.
The Vozao are participating in the knockout stages of the continental showpiece for the first time and have already made a statement, one they will be looking to continue this week.
Sao Paulo vs Ceara Head-to-Head
There have been 17 meetings between Sao Paulo and Ceara. The hosts have won seven of those games while the visitors have won just three times.
There have been seven draws between the two sides, including their most recent meeting which ended 2-2.
Sao Paulo Form Guide (All Competitions): L-W-D-D-D
Ceara Form Guide (All Competitions): L-L-W-W-W
Sao Paulo vs Ceara Team News
Sao Paulo
The hosts have a few injured personnel ahead of their midweek clash, including Alisson, Robert Arboleda and Luan Santos.
Injured: Alisson, Robert Arboleda, Luan Santos
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Ceara
Rodrigo Lindoso came off injured last time out and is a major doubt for this one. Erick and Dentinho are both injured and will not play this week.
Injured: Erick, Dentinho
Doubtful: Rodrigo Lindoso
Suspended: None
Sao Paulo vs Ceara Predicted XI
Sao Paulo Predicted XI (4-4-2): Thiago Couto; Igor Vinicius, Miranda, Luizao, Welington; Igor Gomes, Rodrigo Nestor, Pablo Maia, Rafinha; Luciano, Jonathan Calleri
Ceara Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Joao Ricardo; Nino Paraiba, Messias, Gabriel Lacerda, Bruno Pacheco; Iury Castilho, Fernando Sobral; Steven Mendoza, Vina, Lima; Cleber
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Sao Paulo vs Ceara Prediction
Santos have won just one of their last six games across all competitions. However, they have shown solidity on home turf this season, losing just two home games all year and will fancy their chances ahead of this one.
Ceara are on a run of back-to-back defeats after losing just one of their eight games prior. They have struggled for results on the road of late and could lose here.
Prediction: Sao Paulo 2-1 Ceara
