Internacional vs Fortaleza Prediction: Internacional has not won in Brazil for seven matches

The club's name seems to be in line with what Internacional has shown this season. Inter is a team inclined towards international matches and less towards domestic competitions. The Porto Alegre side hosts Fortaleza a few days before traveling to La Paz for the first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals. The clash against Bolívar is very important for a club trying to salvage its season with international success. The Colorado is doing poorly in the league, occupying a lowly 13th place. It's unlikely that their players will be able to focus 100% on the match against Fortaleza. Coach Coudet will probably make some team changes in preparation for the match in Bolivia, played at altitude. Fortaleza also has a game in the Copa Sudamericana, but with more time to rest, its opponent is also from Brazil, América-MG. The Ceará side won its last match following a poor run of form and will be looking to get three more points.

In the visit to the league leader, Botafogo, Inter was leading at half-time thanks to an unfortunate move by goalkeeper Luca Perri. Still, in the second half, the Cariocas turned the game around and won 3-1. It was the seventh consecutive game without a win in the league, with two wins in between for the Copa Libertadores against Independiente Medellín and River Plate. Facing Fortaleza, the team's biggest challenge will be to forget about the important game in La Paz. In this meeting between Gaúchos and Cearenses, tradition dictates that the home team is the favorite since Fortaleza has never won at the Beira-Rio.

The Lion finally managed to win in the league and by a wide margin, 4-0, against Santos. The result was 0-0 at half-time, but Fortaleza came very strong in the second half. The team broke a run of four straight defeats, which led to a sharp drop down the table. Fortaleza now occupies 11th place with 26 points, two more than Internacional. The Ceará side hopes to recover its position in the table and has a good opportunity to get one point and perhaps break the tradition of never having beaten Inter at their stadium.

I'm leaning toward a surprise or at least a half-surprise. I'm betting on a Double Chance for Fortaleza with a goal total of less than 4.5. Internacional has little time to rest for the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals and could spare its best players.