Nova Iguaçu and Vasco face each other on the night of this Wednesday, January 31, 2024, starting at 6:10 pm, in a game valid for the 5th round of the Guanabara Cup, for the Carioca Championship. The duel will be played at the Parque do Sabiá Municipal Stadium, in the city of Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais.
In yet another curious case of a Carioca Championship match taking place outside the state of Rio de Janeiro, the duel between Nova Iguaçu and Vasco promises strong emotions for this Wednesday night, as both teams tend to enter the field with strength maximum, in direct confrontation for the G-4 of the competition.
Nova Iguaçu
Despite having a significant disadvantage in relation to the purchasing power of their opponent and, as a result, putting together a less popular squad, Nova Iguaçu has been surprising in a positive way at the start of the state championship by standing up to the big clubs.
However, in the last round, “Mechanic Orange” suffered its first defeat of the season, losing 3-0 to Fluminense.
The result left them in fifth place on the Rio elite leaderboard, with 7 points achieved so far, three points behind the leader.
In the last 5 games played officially, there were 2 wins, 2 draws and only 1 defeat. During this period they beat Bangu and Sampaio Corrêa-RJ, drawing with Olaria and also with Flamengo, in addition to losing to Fluminense
Playing as home team, the Nova Iguaçu team recorded 4 wins, 5 draws and only 1 defeat in the last 10 matches played.
Vasco da Gama
And on the visitors’ side there is the Vasco squad, which in turn, played the first rounds with an alternative formation, as its main squad was in pre-season in Uruguay, but has already returned to Brazil and arrives motivated to maintain the team’s unbeaten record.
However, their most recent match was a 2-2 draw, leaving Gigante da Colina still very close to the other competitors.
There were 3 wins, 2 draws and no defeats in the last 5 official matches, beating Madureira, Maldonado and San Lorenzo, in addition to drawing with Sampaio Corrêa-RJ and also with Bangu.
Currently, the club is in third place on the Rio elite league table, with 8 points achieved so far, only one above Nova Iguaçu, the first team outside the G-4 at the moment.
Acting as a visitor, the Vasco team recorded a recent campaign with 2 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats in the last 10 matches played.
Conclusion:
In an excellent start to the campaign, Vasco also has a technically more qualified squad and despite being the visitor, they should have majority support from the stands at Parque do Sabiá, in Uberlândia, deserving a vote of confidence in this round.