Cruzeiro and Patrocinense will face each other on the afternoon of this Friday, February 9, 2024, starting at 4:30 pm, in a game valid for the 4th round of the group stage of the Campeonato Mineiro. The duel will be played at the Mineirão stadium, located in the city of Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais.
Cruzeiro
The Cruzeiro team arrives for this match with high confidence after excellent results recently recorded, managing to remain undefeated in the tournament and also winning a classic against their biggest rival.
On that occasion, Raposa faced Atlético Mineiro at the MRV Arena in the last round and managed to surprise positively by winning by a score of 2-0 in the midst of a high level performance to consolidate itself at the top of the league leaderboard of your group and gain even more confidence for the remainder of the tournament.
In the last 5 times they officially entered the field, they recorded 2 wins, 3 draws and no defeats. During this period they beat Villa Nova and Atlético-MG, as well as drawing with Palmeiras, Botafogo and also Athletic Club.
Currently, the club is in first place in the classification table of Group A of the Campeonato Mineiro, with 7 points achieved so far, having the same score as Tombense, which appears in second place in the competition due to being disadvantaged in goal difference.
Acting as home team, the Cruzeiro team recorded a recent campaign with only 1 win, 7 draws and 2 defeats in the last 10 matches played.
Patrocinense
While on the other side is the Patrocinense squad, which in turn debuted with a victory over Atlético Mineiro in a very promising start, but ended up showing a certain drop in performance in the following duels.
After all, the triumph over Atlético was the only one so far, considering that the team suffered a draw with Uberlândia and a defeat against Villa Nova in their most recent match, when they had the opportunity to play at home and ended up wasting points.
In the last 5 games played officially, only 1 victory, 2 draws and 2 defeats were recorded. During this period, they beat Atlético Mineiro, drew with Uberlândia and Portuguesa-RJ, in addition to losing to Portuguesa-RJ and also to Villa Nova.
Currently, the club is in second place on the Group C leaderboard, with 4 points achieved so far, three less than América-MG, which leads the competition alone.
As a visitor, the Patrocinense team recorded a recent campaign with only 1 win, 6 draws and 3 defeats in the last 10 matches played in this condition.
Conclusion:
In this way, Cruzeiro lives up to its status as a big favorite to win, not only because it is a more traditional club and has the home advantage in its favor, but also because it presents better performances in the previous rounds and is preparing strongly to compete in the elite while its rival struggles a lot to present regular performances in the state championship.