The Campeonato Mineiro starts this mid-week, and in the first round, América Mineiro will host the Pouso Alegre team at home.
The Minas Gerais state competition has a group format, and of the 4 components in each group, only the first placed team advances directly to the semifinals.
There is still the possibility of advancing as the best runner-up. In the competition, teams play against teams from other brackets.
América-MG
América Mineiro is part of Group C, which continues with Democrat, Patrocinense and Athletic Club.
Last season, the team ended up falling to the second division of the Brazilian Championship, had a poor performance in the 2023 season and sought to reformulate for this new cycle.
For a team that will compete in Series B of the Brazilian Championship, the reality is harsh, the investment power is much lower, but there is no way to stay with the base of a team that has fallen.
In this way, América ended up carrying out an almost complete reformulation. They started in the bunker and now, Cauan de Almeida, a former Corinthians assistant with Mano Menezes, will do his first job as a coach.
América did not have any major signings and focused more on their layoffs.
One of his highlights last season, striker Mastriani received inquiries from Athletico Paranaense and expressed his desire to leave the club, having also received an offer from Vélez Sarsfield, from Argentina.
A number of players also left, such as Maidana, Breno, Cazares, Welington Paulista, among others.
It is not known exactly how América will react to this new season, and it can still be considered favorite against teams from the interior, but its distance from these teams has certainly decreased a lot since last season.
Pouso Alegre
Pouso Alegre also does not have large investments for this season and certainly, they are even smaller than a team from the second national division.
The team is coached by coach Gustavo Brancão, and has players announced for this season, almost completely reformulating its squad since the last edition of the Minas Gerais league.
Small teams end up releasing their players after the state championship and there is always a new team every season.
One of the reinforcements announced for this season was the ex-Corinthians full-back, Léo Príncipe, but otherwise there are no big names for 2024.
The competition regulations end up greatly harming teams with lower investment, as only the first placed team in each group advances.
Thus, teams from the interior end up having to make a championship final, from the first rounds onwards.
As it is still the beginning of the year, América is undergoing a radical overhaul of its squad, I don’t believe that betting blindly on the favorite is a good option.
Conclusion:
My betting choice will be on the line of fewer goals, believing that the lack of competitive rhythm and non-ideal physical preparation could be fundamental for a more rhythmic game.