Evangelista: Palmeiras confident for derby with Corinthians | OneFootball

After facing each other seven times in 2025, Corinthians and Palmeiras will play the first Derby of the season this Sunday, in the seventh round of the Campeonato Paulista. Evangelista, who is still looking for his first minutes of the season after returning from injury, pointed out Verdão’s progress and looked ahead to the classic.

Palmeiras is experiencing a period of instability and has yet to string together a convincing run. Last Wednesday, the team beat Vitória 5-1 in the Campeonato Brasileiro, easing the pressure by returning to victory after two games without a win.

“It’s very good to go into a Derby like this, after a win, especially in the way it happened. We are increasing our internal demands to fit in with what Abel is asking, what the coaching staff wants. We are trying to keep the ball at our feet more, to control the game. Regardless of playing at home or away, we have to control the match. Of course, it’s impossible to have 100% of that, but we’re always striving for it,” he said.

“We’re going into this match with confidence, knowing that a classic isn’t played, it’s won. We’re even more confident and, God willing, we’ll come out with the victory,” he projected.

Evangelista was back in the Palmeiras squad in the last match. The midfielder was recovering from surgery on his right thigh to fix an injury suffered at the end of September 2025.

Palmeiras’ Situation

In the Paulistão, Palmeiras is the runner-up with 12 points. In the Brasileirão, they have four points and are also in second place, behind Red Bull Bragantino, who have six. So far this season, there have been five wins, two losses, and one draw.

Palmeiras’ Next Match

Match: Corinthians vs. Palmeiras Competition: Campeonato Paulista (7th round) Date and time: February 8, 2026 (Sunday), at 8:30 pm (Brasília time) Venue: Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo (SP)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.