De La Cruz and Saúl vie for Flamengo XI spot for next Brasileirão game | OneFootball

Leonardo Jardim left De La Cruz out of the match against Corinthians

Flamengo beat Corinthians 2-1 on Sunday (13) in a match valid for the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship. Now, for the next Brasileirão match, De La Cruz and Saúl will compete for a spot in Leonardo Jardim’s starting lineup.

Basically, coach Leonardo Jardim has a total of six defensive midfielders available at Flamengo and is not used to playing athletes out of position. For the match against Red Bull Bragantino, Flamengo will be without three players in that role: Lucas Paquetá and Erick Pulgar, both suspended, as well as Evertton Araújo, who is injured.

What is the situation?

That means that, besides Jorginho, who has been a starter for Flamengo, Leonardo Jardim will only have two more options for defensive midfield: De La Cruz and Saúl. It is worth noting that the Uruguayan was not even available against Corinthians, precisely by choice of the Flamengo coach.

Leonardo Jardim left De La Cruz out of the match because of the limit of nine foreign players who can be included in the squad for each Brasileirão game. Saúl, meanwhile, may have a better chance of starting alongside Jorginho against Red Bull Bragantino, since he was available against Corinthians.

What is Flamengo’s next match?

Now Flamengo switches focus to the Libertadores decider. That is because on Thursday (17), the Most Beloved will face Independiente del Valle (ECU) again at the Maracanã, in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the South American competition. The match kicks off at 9:30 pm (Brasília time).

It is worth noting that, in the first leg, Flamengo beat Independiente del Valle 2-0 at the altitude of Quito, Ecuador. As a result, the Rubro-Negro go into the return match at home with an advantage. Not for nothing, Fla can even lose by one goal and still advance to the Libertadores semifinals.

For the Libertadores match, Leonardo Jardim will have Lucas Paquetá and Erick Pulgar available, in addition to Jorginho. With no limit on foreign players in the South American competition, the Flamengo coach may choose to include De La Cruz and Saúl in the squad for the match.

When is the Flamengo vs. Red Bull Bragantino match?

Finally, the match in which De La Cruz and Saúl will have to battle for a place takes place next Sunday (20) at the Maracanã. On that occasion, Flamengo will face Red Bull Bragantino starting at 6:30 pm (Brasília time), for the 28th round of the Brazilian Championship.

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