Internacional vs Sao Paulo - Head to Head & Match Prediction
02:00, 22st August 2016
Estádio José Pinheiro Borba (Beira-Rio), Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul
This game is a tale of two big clubs who have been badly under-achieving this season and have new coaches at the helm seeking their first wins. New Sao Paulo boss Ricardo Gomes could only watch on helplessly last weekend as his new side lost to his old one. His switch to Sao Paulo had only been confirmed a couple of days before the game but Botafogo grabbed a 1-0 win at Sao Paulo thanks to a last minute goal from Sassá. It was a 3rd defeat in 5 league matches for the club but they did at least win their most recent away game at Santa Cruz.
Their problems aren’t as severe as those facing Internacional right now. They are in the midst of an almighty slump that has seen them go 12 matches without a win and only collect 3 points from those fixtures. They’ve already sacked two coaches this season and the pressure is on Celso Roth to get a result here after he lost his first game 1-0 at Chapecoense on Monday night with a last minute goal also their undoing.
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Given their nightmare run of form, it’s hard to understand why Inter are such clear favourites to with this match. They are playing without any confidence at all and their home form, which has been very strong in recent years has almost totally deserted them. They’d lost 4 home matches in a row prior to a 2-2 draw against Fluminense in their last outing at the Estádio José Pinheiro Borda. That result proved to be the final straw for the board as they fired Falcao soon afterwards after less than a month at the helm.
However their problems lie much deeper than the coaches not doing their job properly and Roth has a big job on his hands. Sao Paulo have at least got a few recent good performances to point to and backing Double Chance – Sao Paulo or Draw at 8/11 looks to offer the value here.
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Head To Head
Inter won 2-1 at Sao Paulo earlier in the season. Sao Paulo have won on 3 of their last 5 visits to Internacional though.
Stats
Inter have gone 12 league games without a win. Only 3 sides have better away records than Sao Paulo, who average 1.2 points per game on their travels.
Team News
Midfielder Fernando Bob and forward Vitinho are suspended to add to Inter's woes while Rodrigo Dourado and William are still on international duty.
Thiago Mendes is suspended but Michel Bastos could return on the wing. Lyanco looks set to keep his place at the back.
