Internacional will try to keep its recovery moving when it hosts Mirassol at Estadio Beira-Rio on Sunday in a Brasileiro Serie A match that carries real weight at the bottom end of the table. The home side spent the first six rounds rooted to last place, but it now arrives on a five-game unbeaten run after drawing 0-0 with Gremio in the Gre-Nal derby.
The numbers show why that turnaround matters. Internacional has three wins, three draws and four defeats this season, with nine goals scored and 10 conceded, and it has won only one of its six home matches at Beira-Rio. Yet it has picked up eight points from five away games, a sharper return that has helped steady a start that looked like it might unravel completely.
Mirassol comes in under even heavier pressure. It is bottom of the standings and has lost six consecutive matches, with one win, three draws and seven defeats overall. That only victory came against Vasco in the opening round, and the team has not been able to build on the momentum of finishing fourth in the 2025 campaign and qualifying for continental competition.
The visitors also arrive with fresh complications from last week’s 2-0 loss to LDU in Quito. Negueba was injured in that match and is a doubt for Sunday, while Rafael Guanaes and Eduardo were both sent off in a recent defeat to Bahia. Assistant Baitello will be in charge on the touchline for Mirassol.
Internacional has its own absences. Gabriel Mercado and Alexandro Bernabei are suspended, Ronaldo remains out with a thigh injury, and Matheus Bahia will be assessed before kickoff. Victor Gabriel is expected to return from suspension and partner Torres at centre-back, while Tabata is back after concussion protocol and Patrick is set to resume his role as the team’s creative hub.
That leaves both sides trying to solve different problems in the same match. Internacional has moved away from the bottom after a brutal opening, but its home record still leaves little room for comfort. Mirassol, meanwhile, is trying to stop a slide that has undone the edge it showed earlier in the year. On Sunday, one of them has a chance to turn a narrow recovery into something more secure.
