Corinthians right-back looks ahead to Athletico-PR clash in Brasileirão | OneFootball

During this Wednesday (29), Corinthians completed its preparation for the next commitment of the season. On the night of this Thursday (30), Alvinegro will host Athletico-PR at 7:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Neo Química Arena, for the 21st round of the Brazilian Championship. At the moment, the club from Parque São Jorge sits ninth with 28 points – seven wins, seven draws, and six losses – with 22 goals scored and 20 conceded. In the event of a win, depending on a combination of results, Timão could jump to sixth place.

The Corinthians squad began the training day with a tactical instruction video in the Flexform Briefing Room. Later, there was strength work in the gym and a warm-up on the pitch. There, coach Fernando Diniz led two tactical drills and set-piece work. To earn a victory against the Paraná side, Timão is holding on to the positive run from the last rounds, in which it has three wins (Atlético-MG – H; Grêmio – A; and Remo – H) and one draw (Bahia – A).

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

According to ge.globo, Corinthians is expected to start the match against Athletico-PR with: Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho, Gabriel Paulista, Gustavo Henrique and Pedro Milans; Raniele, André Luiz, Breno Bidon and Rodrigo Garro; Kaio César and Yuri Alberto.

In an interview with Corinthians TV after the end of training, right-back Matheuzinho looked ahead to the clash against Athletico-PR, third in the competition with 36 points, and commented on the strong recent record against the opponent. In the last five matches, there have been five Corinthians wins and one draw – 12 goals scored and three conceded – and Timão’s last defeat to the opponent came in mid-2023.

“It will be a very difficult match. The opposing team is in the G4. We know their quality, but we have our strength at home and we want, more and more, to recover in the competition so we can be up there. It will be a very important game for us. The numbers are good, but I think every game is a different story. As far as I remember, in none of the matches we played against them recently were they in the G4. That shows the quality and strength of their team. We have to be very careful and go in focused, otherwise it will be a very bad game for us. We are focused on giving this win to the fans,” said the No. 2.

Signed at the beginning of 2024 after building a successful career at Flamengo, right-back Matheuzinho had a start marked by criticism at the club, but in the second half of his first season at Parque São Jorge, he established himself as the starter in the position. In total, he has 144 matches in a Corinthians shirt (115 as a starter), with 62 wins, 40 draws, and 42 losses – a 52.3% success rate – along with six goals and 11 assists.

He was part of Timão’s historic surge in the 2024 Brasileirão (from the Z4 to the Libertadores qualifying stage) and was part of the title-winning squads in the Campeonato Paulista (2025), Copa do Brasil (2025), and Supercopa do Brasil (2026), against Palmeiras, Vasco da Gama, and Flamengo, respectively.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.