Glued to the Copa Libertadores classification, Vasco is seeking his fourth consecutive victory against the threatened Coritiba on Saturday, October 21. The match that opens the thirtieth round of the Brazilian Championship in its 2017 season takes place in Maracanã starting at 17h (Brasília time).
Vasco’s recent performance
Despite having the São Januário stadium, its main headquarters, released after the sports court suspension due to conflicts between the supporters after the classic against Flamengo in the first round (1-0 defeat), the Basque directors chose to transfer his games for the Maracanã.
It justified the decision because the club was in the process of being elected, which could be the trigger for protests that would be more difficult to contain in a smaller stadium. However, the good phase of the team has raised the expectation that the Maracanã should have a large audience presence on Saturday.
After all, after being threatened by the relegation, Vasco not only “took off” from the bottom of the table of classification as “pasted” in the elite squad, which would have the right to dispute the 2018 Libertadores.
This was the result of three successive victories. The first against Avaí, in Florianópolis, by 2 to 1. Then the classic against Botafogo, by 1 to 0 and finally, on Wednesday, October 18, the 1 to 0 marked at Atlético-GO. In addition to the points added, the team showed to have consolidated the defensive evolution since the arrival of the new technician Zé Ricardo. It was 180 minutes without conceding a goal. A feat if you take into account that at the beginning of the season Vasco had one of the most leaked defenses of the Brasileirao.
With 42 points (12 wins, six draws and 11 losses), Vasco completed the twenty-ninth round in eighth place. Thus, if he surpasses Coritiba this Saturday will be able to enter, although temporarily, in the zone of classification for the continental tournament since Botafogo, seventh place and that closes the block of possible classified, has 44 points and will only act on Monday, October 23, against Corinthians in Rio de Janeiro.
The current form of Coritiba
Wednesday was also positive for the paranaense alviverde. Playing at home against Cruzeiro, the Brazilian Cup champion, Coritiba managed to stop a series of nine games without a win (three draws and six losses). He defeated Cruzeiro, 1-0.
It was not enough, however, for the club, who came to lead the 2017 Brasileirão at the beginning of the first round, to be able to leave the relegation zone. With 31 points (eight wins, seven draws and 14 losses) it occupies the eighteenth position. It was, however, closer to achieving that goal. The distance to the sixteenth place, first outside the sticking region, was reduced to two points.
In this way, if he can beat Vasco on Saturday, the team will be able to spend the night outside the relegation zone and spend Sunday cheering against their rivals to remain in this situation at the end of the twenty-ninth round.
For the match, coach Marcelo Oliveira can not count on midfielder Thiago Real. He received the third yellow card against Cruzeiro and will have to comply with automatic suspension.
The choice of the substitute will also pass through a tactical option of the coach. If you want to keep the system used against the miners, the replacement possibilities are Anderson, Tomas Bastos and Yan Sasse. However, there is the possibility of using a more conservative strategy by opting for a steering wheel. If you follow this path, Oliveira has as main candidate for the vacant Matheus Galdezani.
History of the bouts between Vasco and Coritiba
First performed in 1971, the duel Coritiba and Vasco had 40 editions in the Brasileirão. The Basque team has almost twice the number of victories. There were 19 successes against ten of the Thigh. The draws were 11.
PREDICTION: Vasco win @ 2.05
