Fortaleza will be aiming to snap a run of three matches without a victory when they entertain the challenge of Cruzeiro on Monday in round 10 of the 2025 Brasileiro campaign.
Meanwhile, the away side will make the trip to the Castelao with the wind firmly in their sails, having now gone eight matches across all competitions since their last defeat.
Match preview
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After a bright start to their May schedule, which yielded two wins, two draws and four clean sheets from as many games, Fortaleza have since gone on a mini slump, suffering back-to-back defeats.
Juan Pablo Vojvoda‘s men were comprehensively thrashed 3-0 by Vasca da Gama last Saturday for their first league defeat since April, and that was followed by a Copa do Brasil exit to third division side Retro.
Undoubtedly the lowest point of Tricolor de Aco’s season so far, they will now need to pick themselves up from a red-faced moment as soon as possible with huge games on the domestic and continental fronts on the horizon.
Monday’s game against Cruzeiro is the first of three games within a seven-game span for Fortaleza, who also have a crunch against Racing Club to navigate in their Copa Libertadores group-stage finale before heading to the Maracana to take on Flamengo.
A dominant display to start proceedings would help set the tone for the home side heading into a demanding week, and Cruzeiro have fared well in recent games against their upcoming opponents, winning three and drawing two of the last six clashes.
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Cruzeiro’s winning start to the new season against Mirassol was beginning to seem like a long time ago when they underwent a rough patch across the subsequent seven matches which yielded just one win and five defeats.
Leonardo Jardim‘s men managed to get themselves back to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 triumph over Vasco in the final knockings of last month, and that has kicked off a significant upturn in form for the Mineirao-based outfit.
Cruzeiro have since beaten Vila Nova (twice), Flamengo, Sport Recife and Palestino, while holding Atletico Mineiro and Mushuc Runa to stalemates since their most recent loss against Palestino on April 20.
Now third in the Brasileiro table, La Bestia Negra look to have kickstarted their season, although their return to form has come a little too late to salvage their Copa Sudamericana journey, which has ended prematurely in the group stage.
However, that could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Monday’s visitors, who no longer have the burden of continental football to deal with and will now enjoy some added turnover between matches.
Team News
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Marinho was shown a straight red card in his last league outing for Fortaleza and is unavailable to play any part on Monday alongside fellow Brazilian Moises, who is out with a thigh issue.
Rodrigo is also out of contention for the home side with a long-term injury problem and still awaits his debut since joining Maringa back in the January transfer window.
Cruzeiro duo Joao Marcelo and Matheus Henrique are both ruled out with respective knee injuries, although the former is relatively closer to returning to action.
Matheus Pereira will serve a one-game suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards, opening the door for Murilo Rhikman to make only a fourth start of the campaign.
Fortaleza possible starting lineup:
Ricardo; Avila, Mancha, Kuscevic, Mancuso; Pochettino, Sasha, Rossetto; Lucero, Lopes, Pikachu
Cruzeiro possible starting lineup:
Cassio; Fagner, Bruno, Villalba, Kaiki; Romero, Silva, Christian, Rhikman, Wanderson; Jorge
We say: Fortaleza 1-2 Cruzeiro
Cruzeiro are the more in-form of the two sides, but a trip to Fortaleza represents a tough challenge nonetheless.
Having said that, we fancy the away side to pip their hosts to all three points, albeit narrowly.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
