Cruzeiro and Mirassol meet on Sunday at 11h at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte for the 22nd round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, a match that arrives with both clubs carrying very different pressures. Amazon Prime will show the game, and ge will follow every move in Tempo Real.
The search interest around Cruzeiro Vs Mirassol is not only about the kickoff time. Cruzeiro is trying to move into the Libertadores qualification zone under Artur Jorge, while Mirassol is trying to protect the ground it gained after leaving the relegation zone and rising to 14th place with 23 points. For both, this is a points game with immediate table consequences, not a fixture to wait on.
Cruzeiro reaches this one after beating Coritiba 1-0 away in its most recent league match. In the Copa do Brasil, it drew 0-0 with Chapecoense in Chapecó and then won 2-0 at the Mineirão, results that helped keep momentum while the focus now shifts back to the league. Mirassol comes in after being eliminated from the Copa do Brasil in the middle of the week by Grêmio, but it has been unbeaten in the Série A since the restart after the World Cup and boosted its standing by beating Remo in the previous round.
That is why the lineup choices matter so much. Cruzeiro may use Fagner and Romero because both are suspended for the first Libertadores match against Flamengo, and that creates room for rotation without forcing a full reset. Cássio, Léo Aragão, Néiser Villarreal and Gabriel Pec are out with injuries, while Otávio, Kauã Moraes, Fabrício Bruno, Jonathan Jesus, Lucas Silva and Kaique Kenji are listed as pending. The probable Cruzeiro side has Otávio; Fagner, João Marcelo, Jonathan Jesus and Villalba or Rojas; Lucas Romero, Lucas Silva and Matheus Pereira; Kaique Kenji or Lucho Rodríguez or Wesley, Felipe Morais and Kaio Jorge or Bruno Rodrigues.
Mirassol has its own uncertainty in goal. Walter has a thigh edema and did not play in the middle of the week, so Alex Muralha is expected to keep the starting spot if he cannot recover in time. Negueba and Aldo Filho are out injured, and the probable Mirassol team is Alex Muralha or Walter; Igor Formiga, João Victor, Gabriel Knesowitsch and Reinaldo; Denilson, Japa and Shaylon or Wallisson; Fernandinho, Alesson or Edson Carioca and Bruno Santos. Lucas Casagrande will referee the match, with Thiago Henrique Neto Correa Farinha, Rafael Trombeta, Caio Max Augusto Vieira and Emerson Ricardo De Almeida Andrade completing the officiating team.
The bigger question is how much Cruzeiro is willing to spend on a league match while its stated priority sits elsewhere, in the Libertadores tie against Flamengo on the next two Wednesdays. That makes Sunday less about rhythm than about resource management, and it leaves Walter as the one player whose status could still alter the shape of the afternoon at Mineirão.
