Despite absences, Palmeiras to field champion-packed side against Santos | OneFootball

Palmeiras will have a very different lineup compared to recent rounds in the derby against Santos, on Saturday at 9pm (Brasília time), at Vila Belmiro, in a rescheduled match from the 12th round of the Brazilian Championship. Even so, coach Abel Ferreira will have a ‘battle-hardened’ team on the field.

Eight players are unavailable: the called-up Gustavo Gómez, Piquerez, Emiliano Martínez, Facundo Torres, Sosa, and Vitor Roque, and the suspended Allan and Andreas Pereira – called up for the Argentine national team, Flaco López will be back before the derby.

Adding to the absences are the already injured Weverton, Lucas Evangelista, and Paulinho, which means Palmeiras could have up to 11 absences for the match.

With that, the team should take the field with: Carlos Miguel; Bruno Fuchs, Murilo, and Micael; Khellven, Aníbal Moreno, Raphael Veiga, Felipe Anderson, and Jefté; Mauricio and Flaco López.

Of this team, four have already been champions with Palmeiras – Murilo, Aníbal, Raphael Veiga, and López, in addition to the experienced Felipe Anderson and Maurício, one of the team’s main assist providers this season.

The main issue will be on the bench. With so many absences, lesser-known names and players from the youth academy may appear as options for Abel Ferreira’s team in the second half. See the options:

Absences open the way for Academy Graduates

Midfielder Larson and forwards Riquelme Felipe and Erick Belé may be on the bench for the Palmeiras team to make up for the absence of so many names.

Of these, Erick Belé made his professional debut precisely during the last FIFA break, in a match against Juventude – a 4-1 win for Palmeiras. Riquelme has also played under Abel Ferreira. Larson, although listed on the bench, has not yet played.

Luis Pacheco, who played against Juventude, is also unavailable. He is with the Brazil U-17 National Team competing in the U-17 World Cup.

What now?

Leader of the Brazilian Championship, Palmeiras is tied on points with Flamengo (68), but ahead in number of wins (21 to 20). The red-and-black team also plays during this FIFA break, on Saturday, against bottom-placed Sport, away from home.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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