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Atlético-MG need a win to get out of the danger zone

After a series of draws, Atlético have slipped to the edge of the relegation zone so they are under pressure to win today, even though they still have a few players missing. However, even more of Coritiba's players are unavailable for the match, including their best player and top goalscorer

Even though they have not lost a match in eight rounds, 'O Galo'  are in 17th place since last night. The main reason for that is the fact that they have drawn too many matches, six in their last eight, and their third draw in a row came at Vitoria this weekend, where a goal in the dying minutes of the match saved them from defeat.

It goes without saying that they are under pressure to win today, and the whole team is raring to break their winless streak. However, Cuca will rest striker Diego Tardelli as the forward was starting to show signs of fatigue and he asked for a match off. On the other hand, the good news is that Leandro Donizete is back after three months and striker Guilherme is fit to play after some minor injury problems. Besides these two, other important players are ready to play as well, such as the captain Réver and defensive midfielder Pierre, who wants to climb up the league table to boost morale before the Club World Cup at the end of the year:

- We want to turn things around in the second part of the season so we can gain confidence before the Club World Cup. The championship isn't over yet and we have a lot to do. I believe we can improve greatly through dedication, unity and commitment.

In addition to Guilherme, Réver and Pierre, Cuca welcomes back forward Alecsandro. Jô and right back Marcos Rocha will play if they are fit enough after their return from the United States, where the national team played against Portugal on Tuesday evening.

Coritiba played against Sao Paulo in their last match, and they finally managed to end their dry spell of six games without a win. The hero once again was Alex, their best player and third top goalscorer in the league, even though he recently missed five games. The bad news for the guests is that Alex won't play in Belo Horizonte today. He will be replaced by Lincoln. Injuries have caused major problems for the visitors this season and injuries are the reason why Leandro Almeida, Victor Ferraz, Junior Urso, Geraldo, Anderson Aquino and Deivid cannot play today. However, coach Marquinhos Santos will have defensive midfielder Gil back at his disposal after the player served his suspension.

Because of so many absences, the coach might have to play some players out of position. Vinícius could be one of those players, but he has no problems with that:

- I played right back in Parana's youth academy and it wasn't until the under-18 level that I started playing in the middle of the field, so those are the two positions I am capable of playing and I do not see a problem regarding the possible rotation. Since Gil is back from suspension, I don't know if I will play, but I believe I will do well if the coach selects me for the match.

Atletico-MG keep dancing on the edge and putting in an extra effort only when someone gets dangerously close, as is the case now that they've dropped below the line that will separate four teams from the rest of the league this December. Therefore, a win is an imperative today, and the key factors should be the home turf and absent players in the visiting team. The bookmakers are aware of this and the home team win odds are down, but there is another option that is worth a shot and judging by Atletico's results even better than a home team win in this case. This alternative is to bet on them to score more than one goal, irrespective of the final outcome. It is one year today since they last won 1-0 at home, which is the only result that goes in favor of betting on a win compared to the said alternative, while they played 2-2 no less than three times just in the last five games. In any case, the "Roosters" typically score more than one goal at home, as they've managed to do this in 23 out of 26 home games since the end of the last year.

There is probably no team in Brazil with one player standing apart and above his teammates like Coritiba with Alex. He did not even travel for this away match, even though he is not injured. The club doesn't want to risk another injury for him, as he is more needed for the next match where the winning odds and imperative are greater than today. These teams are both good at home, which supports the prediction - and this is confirmed by their h2h - as the visitors always came back empty-handed in recent seasons. Other than Alex, several more players will be missing today in all lines, including defensive midfielder Junior Urso and the important defensive pair Leandro Almeida and Victor Ferraz. Because of this, the Coritiba defense will feature three players with only eight matches played in total between them.

In the last home game, Ronaldinho scored twice from free kicks, and he should have plenty of chances today since the referee for this match is Bezerra, who is ranked second by the number of fouls. The odds at 1.88 seem high, and they shouldn't be much higher than the ones for the home team win, while the only absent player for Atletico is Tardelli.