The São Paulo state championship begins this weekend and one of the attractions on Sunday night is the clash between Corinthians and Guarani, two good teams in the competition.
The competition takes place in a group format and each team plays against all the other teams that are not part of their bracket.
Corinthians
Corinthians in this 2024 season is part of group C, in a group that also includes Red Bull Bragantino, Mirassol and Internacional de Limeira.
At least in theory it is a difficult group, where there is another very good team from the national first division and also Mirassol, which could surprise.
Corinthians had a very average 2023 season, did not compete for titles, had many difficulties in their game structure throughout the year and was unable to implement solid work.
Last season the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals, against Ituano, and for this year, 2024, the team is trying to reformulate its squad, to compete again for the state tournament title.
The team now has a new presidency and has been led by Augusto Melo since the beginning of January. Since then, the club has undergone a major overhaul and experienced players have been sent away, such as defender Gil, midfielders Renato Augusto and Giuliano, as well as full-back Fábio Santos, among others.
Corinthians has been strengthening itself in a more restrained way and some foreigners have been hired, such as Argentine Rodrigo Garro and Ecuadorians Félix Torres and Diego Palácios.
However, Corinthians is still uncertain about what they can present.
There are some names remaining from last year, such as goalkeeper Cássio, Fagner, Lucas Veríssimo, as well as Fausto Vera, Matias Romero and Yuri Alberto.
It is still the same insufficient team that was diagnosed since last season, it has needs that have not yet been addressed and at the beginning of the year, we believe that it will still have some difficulties.
Guarani
On the other side we have the Guarani team, which in the last edition of the second division Brazilian Championship, fought for access until the final stretch, but failed to get a place in Series A.
The team is part of group B, which includes Palmeiras, its rival, Ponte Preta, and also Água Santa, finalist in the last edition of the state league.
This way, it will be very difficult to qualify and each round is important.
Bugre kept coach Umberto Louzer in charge of the team and had changes compared to last season’s squad, to try this year to fight for a place in the first division.
The team had some departures, such as Bruno José and Bruninho, who were 2 important names in 2023. There are no major signings, and I believe that Guarani will also have some difficulties at the beginning of the year and may still have to reinforce their squad to compete in the national league.
Conclusion:
The favoritism still belongs to Corinthians, but it is undeniably a team that needs to show its value, given the terrible year it had in 2023.
Their odds have value, although it is still the beginning of the year and the team may suffer with the pace of the game. But playing as home team, the tendency is to dominate the actions against Guarani.