Athletico Paranaense vs Santos Prediction: Rony to run Teran ragged

Athletico Paranaense made a triumphant return to the Brazilian Serie A after a one-season stay in Serie B, winning 1-0 at Internacional on January 28 before their second game with Corinthians was postponed. Santos, meanwhile, are yet to taste success in the league this year, following up a 4-2 loss at Chapecoense with a 1-1 draw at home to Sao Paulo.

Below are my Athletico Paranaense vs Santos predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of Thursday's head-to-head at the Arena da Baixada (22:00 GMT).

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Team News

Felipinho and Renan Peixoto (both unspecified) are ruled out for Odair Hellmann's Athletico Paranaense.

Football Odds

Neymar is closing in on a return to action for Santos, but there are suggestions that, due to the Baixada’s synthetic surface, the Brazilian superstar, who has been sidelined with a knee injury, could be left out on Thursday, with Sunday’s Paulista game against Velo Cube at the Estadio Urbano Caldeira a more realistic comeback opportunity.

Willian Arao and Ze Rafael (both knee) are out for Santos, while Gabriel Barbosa, who is treating tendinitis, could also be rested to avoid aggravation on the synthetic pitch.

Joao Basso and Andonis Frias are sidelined with calf injuries, but Gabriel Menino, who was suspended for Sunday’s 2-1 Paulista victory at Noroeste, is available for league action for Juan Pablo Vojvoda's side.

Athletico Paranaense vs Santos Odds

Athletico Paranaense are 23/20 favourites, implying a 46.5% probability of success, while Santos are 12/5, or a 29.4% chance, to claim all three points, with the draw offered at 21/10.

Player to Receive a Card - Carlos Teran (CAP) @ 15/8

Athletico defender Carlos Teran made his Serie A debut in his side's opening-round victory at Internacional, where he made just the one foul.

The Colombian, however, averaged 1.4 fouls per game in Serie B last season, picking up two yellow cards and two straight reds in just 10 appearances (nine starts).

Teran joined Athletico mid-season from American side Chicago Fire, for whom he had collected 21 yellows and one red across 87 matches in Major League Soccer.

Today's Football Fixtures

The 25-year-old could be put to work on Thursday by one of Santos' new signings, Rony, who joined in January from Serie A rivals Atletico-MG, for whom he averaged 1.6 fouls won per game in the league last season.

Rony made his Santos debut as a 40th-minute substitute in a 2-0 Paulista defeat at Sao Paulo, drawing five fouls, one of which resulted in a yellow card for the home team's left-sided centre-back, Sabino.

Against the same opposition last week, the 30-year-old was upended three times, and this time, it was their right-sided centre-back, Alan Franco, who was booked for fouling him. He then lured Noroeste's Marlyson into making a yellow-card challenge on him last Sunday.

As a right-footed attacker, Rony prefers to cut in from the left-hand side, which makes Athletico's right-sided centre-back, Terna, the most likely to go into the book for a foul on him here, in my opinion.

Booking Points Over/Under +47.5 - Over 47.5 @ 5/6

The cards have come out to play in Santos' games this year, with eight of their nine across all competitions seeing at least five yellows, and therefore 50 booking points, awarded.

Their first league match against Chapecoense produced 60 booking points, and that was followed up by 85 with Sao Paulo.

Athletico only saw three yellows and 30 booking points in their opening-round fixture against Internacional, but with the likes of Rony drawing plenty of fouls on Thursday, I'm confident we get over the 47.5 threshold here.