Newly-promoted Atletico host champions Flamengo on Brazilian Serie A opening day
Atlético GO vs Flamengo RJ - 13/08/2020
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Newly-promoted Atletico Goianiense welcome defending-champions Flamengo to Estadio Olimpico Pedro Ludovico for the opening round of the 2020 Brazilian Serie A season on Wednesday.
It’s fair to say that Atletico have been a yo-yo club in recent years. They were relegated from Serie A in 2012 before gaining promotion back the top flight in 2017.
However, Atletico finished bottom of the table in their first season back in the big time. Following two years in Serie B, the club are once again back in the top tier.
It’s difficult to know how Atletico will fare this time around. They clinched the fourth and final promotion spot last term – finishing one point ahead of fifth-place America Mineiro and 13 points behind title-winner Bragantino.
On the other hand, Flamengo cemented their status as the best team in Brazil by finishing a whopping 16 points clear of second-place Santos least season.
Flamengo only lost four of their 38 league games in 2019 and boasted the best goalscoring record in the division – netting 24 goals more than second-highest scorer Gremio.
Last season’s title win was Flamengo’s sixth in their history, with only three clubs – Corinthians, Santos, and Palmeiras – having claimed more. It was also their first since 2009.
Remarkably, the top three spots in last term’s goal involvement charts were all filled by Flamengo players. Gabriel Barbosa (25 goals, 9 assists), Giorgian de Arrascaeta (13 goals, 14 assists), and Bruno Henrique (21 goals, 3 assists).
If the deadly trio can carry their blistering form into the new season, Flamengo stand an excellent chance of the retaining the title.
Head-to-head: These two sides last met in the 2017 season, with Flamengo winning 3-0 and 2-0 that year. In fact, Flamengo have won their last seven meetings with Atletico.
From 2010 to 2017, seven straight victories for Flamengo in this fixture have produced an aggregate scoreline of 19-3. All the signs are pointing towards a comfortable away win this time around.
This is the first game of the season for both of these teams, so it’s difficult to gauge the form of the sides heading into the new campaign. Having said that, Flamengo definitely have the upper hand in this fixture.
Forebet predicts that Flamengo will start the defence of their title by scoring over 1.5 goals on their way to victory over Atletico.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
Br1
292844
2
1 - 2
2.98
19°
1.42
7.40
4.50
1.42
-1
-1
1
3 - 0(2 - 0)
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