ABC and Iguatu face each other at the Frasqueirão stadium, in the city of Natal, in Rio Grande do Norte for the second qualifying phase of the Copa do Nordeste. The duel is scheduled to take place on the night of this Saturday, January 13, 2024, starting at 7 pm Brasília time.
ABC
With the advantage of deciding their place in the group stage in this Saturday match in front of their fans, the ABC team arrives for the duel also carrying a greater dose of tension, as an early elimination in the tournament would make them start 2024 under strong suspicion, this being an important year for the club, which will return to compete in Series C after relegation from Series B in 2023.
However, the team maintained a 100% record in the friendlies played during the pre-season and also started on the right foot in their first official match this year, when they faced Sousa, from Paraíba, also in the Copa do Nordeste qualifications.
On that occasion, Alvinegro Potiguar also had the advantage of playing in front of their fans and even without presenting brilliant football, they did enough to win by the minimum score of 1-0 and thus survive in the tournament.
There were 5 consecutive victories in the last 5 matches played, beating Sousa, Santa Cruz-RN, Globo, Guarani and also Vila Nova.
Playing as home team, at the Frasqueirão stadium, in Natal, the ABC team recorded a recent campaign with 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats in the last 10 matches played.
Iguatu
Iguatu, on the other hand, worked hard to eliminate CSA, in Alagoas, in the previous phase, when they did enough to get a 1-1 draw in regulation time and got the better of the maximum penalties to get the heroic classification, being one step away from the main stage of the biggest tournament in the region.
The team is led by coach Washington Luiz and will have to overcome itself once again away from home if it wants to reach the long-awaited group stage of the tournament, even though it does not have the same purchasing power as more traditional rivals that fell along the way.
In the 5 most recent games, 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats were recorded for the Ceará team, which showed strength by beating Caucaia and Santa Cruz, in addition to drawing with CSA in the match that guaranteed it a place in the current phase of the qualifications for the Copa do Nordeste, but suffered setbacks for the Nacional de Patos and Pacajus, still in 2023.
As a visitor, the Iguatu team recorded 2 draws and 8 defeats in the last 10 matches played in this condition.
Conclusion:
The fact of playing at home gives ABC an important advantage, but Iguatu has managed to shine in search of the group stage and the duel promises strong emotions in a match that has everything to be very truncated and with few goals.