Corinthians rest Depay, Gabriel Paulista, Carrillo and Kaio César for Chapecoense trip | OneFootball

Corinthians, winless in five, visit Chapecoense on Thursday at 21:30 Brasília time with a rotated side. Dorival Júnior leaves Memphis Depay, Gabriel Paulista, André Carrillo and Kaio César in São Paulo for the seventh round of the Campeonato Brasileiro.

According to Globo.com, the call followed a Wednesday morning meeting at CT Joaquim Grava, before travel, with the coach hearing from directors, staff, department heads and players.

Physical load is the chief concern, with the Libertadores group stage weeks away. Gabriel Paulista, 35, started the last two matches and showed high muscle fatigue, so he is on a managed programme.

Carrillo has been skipping occasional ball sessions to control workload. Kaio César only just returned from a muscle injury that kept him out for over a month, felt pain at half-time against Santos on Sunday, went back on, then was withdrawn.

The synthetic surface at Arena Condá is viewed as another risk. Depay ended last season treating left-knee pain and missed some early 2026 games, so the staff prefer caution.

Rotation will also give minutes to understudies. André Ramalho and Vitinho are in line to start, while Allan, Angileri, Pedro Milans and Matheus Pereira could feature.

Corinthians host Flamengo on Sunday at the Neo Química Arena, where their 2026 home return is 47.1 percent and the last win came on 12 February against Red Bull Bragantino. The plan is to field the strongest XI then, with travel to Chapecó and a Friday dawn return leaving only Saturday to prepare.

Source: Globo.com