Ceará bid to avoid unprecedented relegation as 2025 scenario repeats

Ceará bid to avoid unprecedented relegation as 2025 scenario repeats Ceará went into the 35th round of last year's Brasileirão with 42 points. They needed just three more to avoid relegation, with 12 still available. But they picked up only one against the four teams then in the top four (Mirassol, Cruzeiro, Flamengo and Palmeiras) and ended up relegated. They spent only the final half-hour of the season in the relegation zone, but that was enough to seal an unlikely drop. Now the situation for the black-and-white side from Porangabuçu is even more dramatic. Their mission against CRB next Saturday (14) is to avoid something unprecedented: relegation to Brazil's Série C. Favorites failed to deliver... Ceará actually made a positive start to the current Série B campaign, sitting sixth after six rounds and still unbeaten. It suggested they would challenge for an automatic promotion spot to Série A, or at least a place in the playoffs. That would have justified having one of the four biggest wage bills in the competition. Instead, they entered the closing stages battling relegation. They did rally, taking 11 of a possible 15 points between rounds 28 and 32 to move closer to safety. But then they got themselves into trouble: one draw and four defeats. Last Sunday's (8) defeat at home at Castelão to already-relegated América Mineiro also prompted coach Daniel Paulista to resign. And it left Vozão in a precarious position. The risk was just 1%... Before facing América Mineiro, Ceará were still in a comfortable position. They had lost to Athletic, but needed just one point from the remaining six to turn their attention fully to 2027. At that point, their mathematical chance of relegation was 1%, according to the Mathematics Department at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). But defeat to another team from Minas Gerais left them in their current predicament. Their fate is still in their own hands, but the risk of relegation stands at 19.3%, and the situation is far from straightforward. They need at least a point against CRB at Rei Pelé to avoid a first-ever drop to the third tier. They have 43 points and 11 wins, sitting in 16th place. Avaí are just behind them on 40 points, with the same number of wins. The catch is that Vozão will be away to the team currently in sixth, who also have their fate in their own hands as they look to secure the final playoff spot. Avaí, meanwhile, will face Ceará's latest conquerors in Belo Horizonte. A defeat to CRB combined with an Avaí win would relegate Ceará. Photo: Gabriel Silva / Ceará SC This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.