Still seeking their first victory of the new Brasileiro Serie A season, Sport Recife host Internacional on Sunday at Ilha do Retiro.
Leao are bottom of the league table, losing 2-0 last weekend at Ceara, while Colorado are 15th following a 1-1 draw with Mirassol.
Match preview
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The first top-flight campaign since 2021 has been a disappointment early on for Sport Recife, who have just two points after nine matchdays.
New manager Antonio Oliveira has struggled to get this team going, with his side losing their last two Serie A contests by a combined margin of 6-0, his only two at the helm thus far.
Early into this top-flight campaign, the newly promoted side are struggling in the attacking third, scoring a league-low four goals thus far.
Only one of those goals occurred in front of their home fans, while Sport Recife have not scored in their last four Serie A contests.
To be fair, though, it is not as if they are making a concerted effort to hang back, after all they are averaging nearly 50% possession per Serie A fixture (49.3), good for 11th in the league.
Their current nine-match winless run in this competition is the longest they have gone without a Serie A triumph this decade, while they would match their longest losing streak in the league this year with another defeat this weekend (four games).
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The first full season for Roger Machado as Internacional manager has been challenging, with his side just a single point above relegation early on.
With a mere 10 points after nine matchdays in the Brazilian top-flight, the team from Porto Alegre have accumulated one point fewer than they had at this stage a year ago.
Machado will be seeking his first away victory in league play this year, with 10 of their 13 goals conceded domestically in 2025 occurring as the visitors.
While it has not been a great start to the campaign, Internacional are just a point below the top 12, which comes with a place in the Copa Sudamericana group stage.
This side have already gone into the interval with the lead away from home twice this season and failed to maintain it, dropping five points as a result.
Clube do Povo have won two of their three visits all-time to Ilha do Retiro, claiming a 1-0 triumph in their previous visit to Recife in 2021.
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Team News
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In their defeat at Ceara, Recife were missing Goncalo Paciencia who is dealing with thigh problems, while Ze Roberto is recovering from torn ligament and Denis has a knee injury.
Only five players maintained their place in the starting 11 from matchday eight to nine, Igor Carius, Chico, Christian Rivera, Chrystian Barletta and Carlos Alberto.
On the Internacional side, Bruno Gomes and Gabriel Mercado sat out of their previous league encounter with cruciate ligament injuries, while hamstring strains kept Rafael Santos Borre and Enner Valencia on the sidelines.
Ricardo Mathias rescued a point for them against Mirassol last weekend, scoring his first goal of the 2025 Brasileiro Serie A campaign.
Sport Recife possible starting lineup:
Franca; Hereda, Cunha, Carlos, Chico, Dalbert; Lima, Oliveira, Rivera, Barletta; Romarinho
Internacional possible starting lineup:
Anthoni; Aguirre, Vitao, Juninho, Bernabei; Henrique, Ronaldo, Romero; Wesley, Patrick; Mathias
We say: Sport Recife 1-1 Internacional
Internacional have looked vulnerable at the back away from home, but the home team lack the confidence needed to be decisive enough in the attacking third and win this contest.
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