The Campeonato Paranaense reaches the time of its third round and on Thursday night we’ll have the attraction between Londrina and Coritiba, at Estádio do Café.
The competition has a straight points format and of the 12 teams that make up the competition, 8 advance to the playoffs, and the last 2 placed fall to the second state division.
Londrina
Londrina is a team that is going through a very delicate moment in its history.
Last season, they competed in Series B of the Brazilian Championship, but fell to the third national division.
This year’s team expects to become an SAF, and has been undergoing a reformulation since last season.
The club invested in keeping some young athletes from last season, but sent a number of players away.
They hired several new reinforcements, but without big names, it’s true. The coach for this season will be Emerson Ávila, who worked at Goiás.
It is still a difficult time for this club, which will have to start from scratch, with a not so high investment.
Now, with a new football department, it will take time to achieve a complete restructuring.
At the beginning of the year, the team has not yet managed to win in the state league, with one defeat and one draw, no goals scored and only one goal conceded.
In the first match they played a very poor game technically, and ended up in a goalless draw against Operário away from home.
Also as a visitor, in the last match they lost to Cianorte by one to zero.
Now they will make their debut at home, but facing one of the main clubs on the state scene, I believe they’ll have the same difficulties.
Coritiba
Coritiba also suffered a fall in the last edition of the Brazilian Championship and went from Série A to Série B in 2024.
Coritiba is the biggest state champion, with 39 titles, but it also had a reformulation aimed at this season, and like Londrina, it also arrives needing to prove its value.
The team became SAF last season and expects to restructure itself in the coming years and become a powerhouse in Brazilian football.
At the beginning of the year, its squad has been rotating, still without great physical condition and mixed teams are being seen in the first rounds.
It has also undergone a major overhaul since the 2023 season and 12 players have left the club.
Its main attraction in 2023, striker Slimani remains in the team, and Coritiba brought some reinforcements for 2024, notably striker Figueiredo, on loan from Vasco.
So far in the competition, Coritiba appears in second place with 2 wins in 2 games, 5 goals scored and only one conceded.
Although it has also undergone important changes since last season, it is a team that has much higher investments than Londrina, and in the first 2 games it managed to show good football.
They beat PSTC 3-1 at home, and also as home team they beat São Joseense 2-0.
Conclusion:
Even away from home, I believe they are the favorites against Londrina, who haven’t even managed to score goals so far. Therefore, a line favorable to Coritiba is an interesting betting option.