At times opposite to the Brasileirão, Red Bull Bragantino and Goiás face off this Sunday morning, from 11 a.m., at the Nabi Abi Chedid stadium, in Bragança Paulista (SP), for the 27th round. It’s a direct confrontation in the fight for a place in the Copa Sudamericana.

Without winning for six games, Red Bull Bragantino are counting on a good performance as a home team – coming from three wins and two draws – to react and take out the 33 points. Along with three others, Goiás have not lost for five rounds and have won the last two games they have played as visitors.

Red Bull Bragantino entered the Brasileirão in search of a place in the Copa Libertadores, but the performance fell short of expectations, as in their entire season. Goiás, on the other hand, has a more humble goal and is close to achieving top-flight permanence.

The winless streak bothered the Red Bull Bragantino side, who worked hard during the week to successfully rehabilitate after the 1-1 draw with Atlético-MG in Mineirão. To look for solutions, coach Maurício Barbieri had 11 days off, which had not happened for five months.

“This winless streak is uncomfortable, but the fact that we are competing well against big teams is a sign that we are getting back on track. Now is the time to earn points in the next games,” said the coach, recalling that Red Bull Bragantino faced successively Corinthians, Palmeiras and Atlético-MG.

To get back to winning ways, Red Bull Bragantino are counting on the return of left-back Luan Cândido, who is the team’s top scorer at the Brasileirão with seven points. On the other hand, right-back Andrés Hurtado and striker Jan Hurtado are on medical duty.

After managing to repeat the line-up in the last three games, Jair Ventura will be forced to switch Goiás for this Sunday’s clash. The coach lost top scorer Pedro Raul’s main teammates: Dadá Belmonte and Vinícius. The duo is injured.

“Unfortunately, the injuries came back to bother us a bit. We have lost our two speed players, so we will have to reinvent ourselves. We would probably repeat the team for the fourth time in a row,” lamented Jair Ventura.

Without the pair who started in the 1-1 draw with Flamengo, Jair Ventura would have to put forward Renato Júnior and midfielder Matheus Sales. If the coach does this, the versatile Diego will be advanced on offense.