Brazil take on El Salvador in what looks like a potential one-sided friendly with Tite expected to name another strong side to face the minnows.
Brazil took the field for the first time after their World Cup exit in Russia to beat USA 0-2 at the MetLife Stadium, and now face El Salvador in a friendly that will boost their preparations for Copa America.
Tite had named a strong side to face USA, with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Neymar, Philippe Coutinho, Casemiro and Douglas Costa all featuring for Brazil. Firmino and Neymar though, were the ones who bagged first-half goals against the Stars and Stripes to put the game beyond the hosts’ reach.
Against El Salvador, Brazil will treat the game as another in their bid to return to the top of South American football, and get the group together and in sync.
El Salvador, on the other hand, will likely come into this clash with Brazil full of confidence having beaten Montserrat 1-2 in their CONCACAF Nations League Qualifications over the weekend.
Team News & Tactics
Brazil
Tite is expected to make plenty of changes to his side that beat USA a few days back. The changes do not necessarily represent fielding a weaker side, but on the contrary, it still would serve a strong team.
Neymar, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Douglas Costa and Casemiro all started the previous encounter, and all of them are expected to be on the bench. Among the quintet, Firmino looks the likeliest to play some part in the second half of the match, as he looks to cement his place as the first-choice striker for Tite.
Tite will likely replace those stars with Richarlison, Willian, Arthur Melo, Everton Ribeiro and Alex Sandro, all of whom could start. Thiago Silva is also expected to be replaced by Dede, who should start alongside Marquinhos at the heart of the Brazilian defence.
Probable Starting Lineup (4-3-3): Neto; Fabinho, Marquinhos, Dede, Sandro; Arthur Melo, Fred, Paqueta; Willian, Everton, Richarlison
El Salvador
Manager Carlos De Los Cobos is expected to retain his strongest possible lineup against Brazil. It would ideally be the same one that beat Montserrat a few days ago.
Oscar Ceren, who netted twice against Montserrat will be in the starting lineup. Jose David Diaz is expected to lead the line alongside strike partner Diego Coca. El Salvador are likely to retain a tight 4-4-2 formation to contain the threat of Brazilian attackers and midfielders.
Henry Hernandez should be in goal with Alexander Mendoza and Juan Barahona expected to form the central defensive partnership against Brazil. On either side of the duo, Roberto Dominguez and Bryan Tamacas are expected to start. El Salvador’s midfield four will consist of Fabricio Alfaro, Gilberto Baires, Oscar Ceren and Denis Pineda in what looks like a tight, conservative formation.
Probable Starting Lineup (4-4-2): Hernandez; Dominguez, Mendoza, Barahona, Tamacas; Alfaro, Baires, Ceren, Pineda; Coca, Diaz
Key Stats
- Wednesday’s encounter will be only the third time when Brazil will face off against El Salvador.
- In the two preceding encounter, Brazil boast a perfect record against El Salvador, and are yet to concede against the CONCACAF minnows.
- Brazil have kept a clean sheet in their last 6 friendlies.
- Brazil have won 4 of their last 5 games by a 2-0 margin.
- El Salvador have lost each of their last 9 games against South American opposition.
Player to Watch
Richarlison
Following a strong start to his stint with Everton, for whom he’s scored three goals in as many games, Richarlison has been called up the Brazil National Side for the first time. Against El Salvador, the 21-year-old looks primed to be handed his full debut by Tite.
This could be the right opportunity for Richarlison to show he is worthy of a place in the Selecao side for the future, with key players like Neymar and Douglas Costa set to be named among the substitutes on Wednesday. A good showing against El Salvador would boost his chances to remain with Brazil as well as for the season with Everton.
Prediction
Brazil 4-0 El Salvador
Brazil are expected to sweep aside El Salvador when the two sides meet. The gulf in quality between the two sides should be too wide for comfort for the minnows, even if Tite names his second-string side, which would still be able to produce more quality than the first-choice team of El Salvador.
Expect plenty of goals, especially in the first half from Brazil as they look to prepare this group of players for the next big tournament, the Copa America. There could be more goals than the predicted numbers for Neymar, Coutinho and Costa could all come in from the bench in the second half to boost the scoreline further.
