Botafogo v Athletico Paranaense: Libertadores charge meets Sudamericana chase | OneFootball

Botafogo host Athletico Paranaense in the Brasileirão on Monday, 24 August 2026 at Nilton Santos, with the visitors defending a top-three spot and the hosts aiming to climb from 11th and firm up their Sudamericana ambitions.

Botafogo and Athletico Paranaense last met in March, when the visitors won 4-1. The stakes mirror the table: the Curitiba side sit third, while the Rio club start from 11th.

Fogão have two wins in their last five across league and continental action, though that run also included a 6-1 defeat at Cienciano. Athletico-PR are unbeaten in three league games, winning at Santos and against Internacional before drawing with RB Bragantino.

Glorioso are without Arthur Cabral through suspension, while Kaio Fernando Da Silva Pantaleao and Jordan Barrera are sidelined. For Furacão, Carlos Terán, Lucas Esquivel, Renan Viana and Claudinho are out.

Athletico-PR's platform is a defence that has conceded 20 goals with eight clean sheets, while Kevin Viveros is second in the league scoring chart on 14. Gaston Benavidez has supplied five assists. By contrast, Fogão have scored 35 and conceded 34, averaging 1.6 goals per game with three clean sheets. Danilo has seven league goals and nine goal contributions. With 246 open-play crosses at 23.58% accuracy, wide delivery could be a key route for the hosts.

Furacão could tighten their grip on the Libertadores places with a result. Fogão may climb the standings and strengthen their Copa Sudamericana bid.