Fresh from their 3-0 thumping at the hands of Mirassol, Santos return to action as they prepare to welcome an improving Internacional side.

While the Black and Whites dropped back into the relegation zone last week, the Reds picked up their second successive league win in order to move within two points of the top 10.

Match preview

Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar Jr made headlines after the Santos forward snapped at a journalist following a lacklustre performance in an embarrassing defeat to Mirassol.

The 33-year-old was irked by a question about his physical form after playing 90 minutes for the second time in four days.

Neymar also scolded his team’s performance, with Santos suffering their heaviest defeat of the season and dropping back into the relegation zone.

Having won a couple of matches prior to the Mirassol defeat, including a 1-0 win over league leaders Flamengo, Santos appeared to be building serious momentum. Instead, they will be looking to bounce back when they welcome Internacional to Vila Belmiro.

Speaking of the Reds, Roger Machado’s men picked up their second successive win on Sunday as they battled to a 1-0 success over Ceara Sporting Club.

That was Internacional’s fourth win from 14 Serie A games this season – a run of form which underlines their struggles this term.

Winning back-to-back matches appears to have injected some much-needed life into Internacional, who are now looking to close the gap on the top 10.

The supporters will certainly remember their last meeting with Santos, which ended in a record-breaking 7-1 victory. While a repeat of that score is highly unlikely, the visitors will certainly fancy their chances as they look to continue their six-match unbeaten run against their rivals.

Santos Brasileiro form:

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Santos form (all competitions):

L W L W W L

Internacional form:

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Internacional form (all competitions):

D W L L W W

Team News

Santos are expected to remain without Gil, who is struggling with a hip injury and has missed the last two matches.

Neymar Jr is expected to feature again, and the same goes for Igor Vinicus, who is available for selection.

Internacional are without midfielder Bruno Gomes, who is sidelined with an ACL injury and is not expected to return until October.

Goalkeeper Sergio Rochet continues to nurse a broken hand, while forward Rafael Borre is still battling an abdominal problem.

Santos possible starting lineup: Paulo; Kaiky, Felipe, Boza; Guilherme, Braga; Pirani, Sandry, Sanchez; Neymar, Angelo

Internacional possible starting lineup: Lomba; Moises, Rocha, Mendez, Heitor; Edenilson, Dourado, Alan Patrick, Taison; Maia, Palacios

We say: Santos 1-2 Internacional

Santos have only lost one of their last four competitive matches at home, but overcoming Internacional may prove a stretch too far.

The Reds are not only in good form, but they also boast a six-match unbeaten run against Santos. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to prevail.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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