Mirassol and Atlético-MG meet on Saturday at 18:30 at Maião in Mirassol, and the game opens the 35ª rodada of the Brasileirão. Prime Video will show the match, while ge will cover it in real time, as both sides walk into a late-season fixture with very different urgencies.
For Mirassol, the search is simple: can it keep building distance from danger? The team is 14th with 40 points, three ahead of Corinthians, the first side in the Z-4, and it comes in after beating Chapecoense, which leaves it with a chance to string together a second straight win for the first time in this stretch. Edson Carioca is back after serving a suspension, and Rafael Guanaes is expected to return to a three-forward setup with Edson Carioca, Alesson and André Luís. Bruno Santos, whose suspension was cut by STJD from four matches to one, is also available again and should begin on the bench.
That matters because Mirassol does not just need points; it needs room. A win would widen a buffer that could become decisive in the relegation fight, and this round begins with the kind of opponent that can either sharpen that margin or erase it in one night. Lucas Oliveira is also in the race for a starting spot in defense after replacing Willian Machado against Chapecoense, while Denilson is the favorite to start in midfield ahead of Wallisson, showing that the side is still fine-tuning its shape even at this stage of the table.
Atlético-MG arrives carrying a far less forgiving run. The club has gone six games without a win, with five defeats and one draw, and it was knocked out by Grêmio in the Copa do Brasil semifinal before turning back to league play. Even so, it is expected to use a strong lineup rather than ease off before the Sul-Americana final, a choice that says the club still sees the Brasileirão as live business. Atlético-MG is seventh with 50 points, three behind the team in sixth, so the gap to the G-6 is still within reach.
Maycon remains out with a thigh injury in the left leg, Tomás Pérez is suspended and Lyanco is still not in the squad without a diagnosed injury, which narrows the options but does not appear to change the plan. Léo Duarte and Vitor Hugo are the likely center-back pair, Fred may get a chance in midfield after playing through pain against Grêmio, and the probable lineup also includes Everson, Natanael, Lodi, Castaño, Cissé, Alexsander, Bernard, Cuello and Cassierra. For Mirassol, the projected XI features Walter, Igor Formiga, João Victor, Willian Machado, Reinaldo, Denilson, Neto Moura, Eduardo, Edson Carioca, Alesson and André Luís.
What follows after Saturday is even more demanding for Atlético-MG: on the 21st, it will decide the Sul-Americana against Boca Juniors in Colombia. That leaves this match as more than a routine league stop. For Mirassol, it is a chance to make the bottom of the table look a little farther away. For Atlético-MG, it is a test of whether a team that has not won in six games can steady itself before the biggest date left on its calendar.
