São Paulo × Atlético Mineiro · Brasileirão

São Paulo host Mineiro in the Brasileirão Série A on Saturday 5 September at 22:30 BST, a late finish for anyone following from Britain. This is the top tier of Brazilian football, the division that decides the national title and distributes the continental places, so there is no such thing as a filler night in it. São Paulo have home advantage; Mineiro arrive as the travelling side.

What is at stake is what a league season always asks of a club: points collected and consistency kept. A result here feeds the ledger both sides settle at the end of the campaign, and nobody gets to choose which nights count. The hosts will look to make familiar ground tell; the visitors will judge the trip on whether they leave with something to show for it.