Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Brasileiro clash between Juventude and Cruzeiro, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Seeking to close the relegation gap, Juventude return to Estadio Alfredo Jaconi on Thursday for a date with Cruzeiro on matchday 34 of the Brasileiro Serie A season.
A 3-1 win at Vasco da Gama has Juve four points below the relegation line, while Cruzeiro remain third in the table following a 0-0 draw in their previous outing with Fluminense.
Match preview
It is getting down to the wire for Juve, who are still in line to go down by the end of the season, though their recent form is an encouraging sign moving forward.
Thiago Carpini’s men are currently on a two-match winning run in the top-flight, conceding just one goal combined in both of those away contests.
On Thursday, they can claim their first victory domestically on home soil since blanking Bragantino 1-0 in October, conceding just one shot on target in the 90 minutes of that encounter.
Defensively, it has been a struggle for them throughout the year, as this team have conceded 59 goals in 33 league fixtures, with only Sport Recife allowing more (60).
Juventude have points in all but one of their Serie A encounters this season when netting multiple times, winning those last two outings after doing so.
Three of their previous four home games against Cruzeiro in either Serie A or B ended with Juve claiming maximum points, the last one occurring in the second tier in 2020 (1-0).
Over the past few months of the domestic season, the team from Belo Horizonte have been among the most consistent in the Brasiliero Serie A.
Leonardo Jardim’s team have points in 13 of their previous 14 league contests and are currently on an eight-match unbeaten run in this competition.
They have points in their last four league games away from home and, with a victory on Thursday, can equal their longest winning run in Serie A this year (two games).
With five matchdays remaining, Maior de Minas are seven points below the league leaders Flamengo, and have already picked up a dozen more points than they accumulated in the top-flight a year ago.
Defensively, this team have rarely given away much all season, allowing the second-fewest goals in the league to this stage of the 2025 campaign (22).
Raposa have won their last three Serie A affairs against Juventude by a combined margin of 7-0, collecting a narrow 1-0 win in this exact fixture in 2024.
Juventude Brasileiro form:
Juventude form (all competitions):
Cruzeiro Brasileiro form:
Team News
Muscular problems will keep Gilberto on the sidelines for Juventude on Thursday, Nata Felipe is doubtful with a sore hamstring and Galego is unlikely to feature as well due to an ankle issue.
Marcelo Hermes, Nene and substitute Ewerthon scored for them on matchday 33, enabling them to come from behind and defeat Vasco comfortably.
Meanwhile Cruzeiro are likely to be missing Wanderson who has a thigh problem, Matheus Henrique is dealing with a rib fracture, Marquinhos is out with a cruciate ligament tear and Fagner will not play because of a fibula fracture.
Cassio only faced two targeted efforts versus Fluzao in their previous league fixture and stopped them both for his 14th clean sheet in Serie A this season, second only to Flamengo’s Agustin Rossi at 16.
Juventude possible starting lineup:
Jandrei; Freitas, Sam, Angel; Ewerthon, Goncalves, Jadson, Hermes; Nene; Giovanny, Taliari
Cruzeiro possible starting lineup:
Cassio; William, F. Bruno, Villalba, K. Bruno; Romero, Walace; Christian, Pereira, Arroyo; Jorge
We say: Juventude 0-1 Cruzeiro
Despite their resilience of late, we do not trust that Juve can do a job against a side as well-organised at the back as Cruzeiro who have pulled out their share of narrow triumphs this year.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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