Corinthians lean on best defensive run since April to face Cruzeiro | OneFootball

Corinthians host Cruzeiro at 19:30 on Sunday at Neo Química Arena in the 23rd round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, buoyed by a recent defensive upswing.

According to Meu Timao, the team are leaning on a sturdier backline to improve their standing.

They arrive off consecutive clean sheets, a 2-0 win at Red Bull Bragantino on 9 August, then a 0-0 at Rosario Central in the Libertadores last 16 first leg despite finishing with 10 men.

The Argentina stalemate reinforced a solid run under Fernando Diniz. Since his arrival, Corinthians have kept 13 clean sheets in 23 matches.

Their peak came in April, when they put together seven straight clean sheets, one of the longest sequences in club history alongside runs in 1978 and 2014.

Sunday sets the league’s fifth-best attack against one of its meanest defences. Cruzeiro have scored 30 in 22 games, while Corinthians have conceded 20 in 22, the fourth-best defensive mark.

Corinthians are seventh with 32 points from 22 matches and remain in the hunt for a Libertadores place. A win in Itaquera will take them to fifth, above Cruzeiro.

Source: Meu Timao

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”