Looking to bounce back, Cruzeiro defend 35-year run v Bragantino | OneFootball

Cruzeiro takes the field this Sunday (12), at 6:30 p.m., at Mineirão, needing to return to winning ways to get out of the uncomfortable second-from-bottom spot in the Brazilian league and bounce back from the bitter 4-1 defeat to São Paulo in the last round. Besides the encouraging win in Ecuador over Barcelona in their Copa Libertadores opener, Raposa is also defending a taboo of more than three decades against its rival from the interior of São Paulo.

The last time the team in blue was defeated by this opponent at home was on March 6, 1991, when it lost 3-1, also in the Brazilian league. Since then, the record in Belo Horizonte has been overwhelmingly favorable to Cruzeiro, which has built a solid run of positive results over the years.

Since then, there have been eight home matches, with six wins and two draws. The dominance includes memorable triumphs, such as the 4-0 win in 1996, as well as more recent results that reinforce Cruzeiro’s superiority, like the 2-1 victory in the 2025 Brazilian league at Mineirão, when the team fell behind and still came back to win.

The overall head-to-head record, on the other hand, shows a more balanced picture. In 21 matches played, Cruzeiro has 9 wins, against 7 for Bragantino, in addition to 5 draws. The Minas Gerais side also holds the edge in goals scored: 28 to 19.

Even so, the warning signs are on. In 2025, Bragantino managed to end a 30-year winless run against Cruzeiro as the home side by winning at Nabizão. Under Vágner Mancini, the team sits in 9th place in the Brazilian league, with 14 points from 10 matches, and comes into the game on the back of two straight wins.

In addition to defending its taboo, Cruzeiro is in urgent need of points to climb the table. The team is in 19th place, with just seven points in ten rounds, and needs a win to begin a turnaround in the competition. It will be coach Artur Jorge’s second game in charge of the team in the Brazilian Championship.

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