By Gustavo Castilho
Palmeiras is the one that has the best shot at the vacancy.In the other clashes, Flamengo and São Paulo is the highlight game on the decisive Wednesday of the competition.
Coach Rogério Ceni seeks his first victory ahead of the rubro-negro. The 2-1 defeat in his debut against São Paulo, at Maracanã, placed the newcomer coach already with the tough mission of classifying the team for the semifinal. Flamengo and São Paulo face off at Morumbi, at 9:30 pm, Brasília time. The São Paulo tricolor plays for a draw. The Rio club, on the other hand, needs a victory by two goals difference to advance. The difference of one goal takes the dispute for a spot in the semifinal to the penalties. The rubro-negro will lack Tiago Maia and Gabigol, both out due to injury. Everton Ribeiro was listed, although it is still a doubt due to the games for the Brazilian team. On the side of São Paulo, coach Fernando Diniz has no problems and goes with maximum strength. Defender Arboleda, who is with the Ecuadorian national team, is the only doubt due to the wear in Ecuador’s games in the qualifiers.
Another who missed at home and is looking for a comeback is Internacional. For the return game in Belo Horizonte against América-MG, the team will need to revert the score of 1 to 0 that Coelho applied in Beira Rio. Like Rogério Ceni, Abel Braga also hasn’t managed to win since returning to the club. América plays for a tie to qualify, while Inter needs to win by two goals difference since winning by one goal will take the dispute to penalties. Edenílson remains in doubt for the duel. Internacional and América-MG enter the field at 9:30 pm, Brasília time.
Earlier, at 19h, it is Palmeiras’ turn to face Ceará in Fortaleza. The 3-0 victory in the first leg left the São Paulo team in a very comfortable situation. The Vozão needs to win by at least four goals difference. If the team from Ceará wins by three goals the dispute will also go to penalties. While Ceará has the return of several athletes, Palmeiras suffers from a high number of absences. They lack 19 players in total, 15 of those who tested positive for Covid-19. A headache that Abel Ferreira will need to solve, although the advantage is quite considerable.
Grêmio and Cuiabá face off at 16h, in Porto Alegre. The gaucho tricolor has the return of the idol Geromel at the defense. David Braz and Ferreira complete the trio that did not face Cuiabá in the first game and return now. Grêmio plays for a draw since at Arena Pantanal they won by 2 to 1. On the Mato Grosso team side, the drama is at the edge of the field. Coach Marcelo Chamusca is moving to Fortaleza and is no longer directing the team. Allan Aal, former Paraná is the new commander of the team and needs to win by two goals difference to qualify. For Cuiabá, this match is one of the most important games in their short history, since never has a team from the state reached so far in the competition.
