Corinthians learn 2026 Paulista first round opponents

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Central do Timão

·12 November 2025

Corinthians learn 2026 Paulista first round opponents

By Daniel Keppler / Central do Timão Editorial Team

On the evening of Tuesday (11), the Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF) held the group draw for the 2026 Campeonato Paulista, in an event that took place at the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu. The tournament will begin on January 11 and is expected to use 12 match dates, a reduction caused by the restructuring of the Brazilian football calendar, which mandated that all state championships finish by March 8.

As a result, the first phase will now have eight games, with matchups determined by draw, in a format similar to the one recently adopted by UEFA in its continental competitions, and which featured the four major clubs – Corinthians, Santos, São Paulo, and Palmeiras – as top seeds. Corinthians will face, in addition to its three rivals, the teams of Ponte Preta, Capivariano, Velo Clube, Red Bull Bragantino, and São Bernardo.

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Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Ag. Corinthians

With this, Timão will not face in the first phase the teams of Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto, Guarani, Mirassol, Novorizontino, Noroeste, Portuguesa, and Primavera. After the eight rounds of the first phase, the top eight teams will advance to the knockout stage. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be single matches, and the grand final will be played over two legs (home and away).

The order of the matchups has not yet been defined and will be announced by the FPF at a later date. It is worth remembering that Corinthians are the current champions of the Campeonato Paulista, having won this season after six years without titles for Alvinegro. In the grand final, against Palmeiras, the team won the first leg 1-0 away and secured the title with a goalless draw at Neo Química Arena in the return leg.

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