Neymar to play just his second derby for Santos vs Palmeiras, stats | OneFootball

Santos faces an extremely challenging task in the fight against relegation in the Brazilian Championship. This Saturday, the Alvinegro Praiano hosts Palmeiras at 9 PM (Brasília time) at Vila Belmiro, in a postponed match from the 13th round of the national tournament.

Coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda will have an important player. Neymar has been training normally throughout the week and, unless there are any setbacks, he will be available for the match. The star is preparing for what will be only his second classic since returning to the club.

Neymar returned to Santos in February this year and, due to injuries, played only one of the seven classics this season. The star was a starter against Corinthians on February 12, when Peixe was defeated 2-1 at the Arena, during the group stage of the Paulista Championship.

Neymar in a classic against Corinthians, in February (Photos: Raul Baretta/ Santos FC)

Since then, the star has missed all of Santos' classics. He even stayed on the bench against Corinthians, this time in the Paulista semifinal, but did not play. On that occasion, he was suffering from an edema in the back of his left thigh.

Neymar then missed all the other Peixe classics of the season. The Alvinegro Praiano faced São Paulo (twice), Corinthians (twice), and Palmeiras (once), accumulating five defeats and two victories – totaling a 28.5% success rate.

Between April and May, the number 10 missed the classics against São Paulo and Corinthians due to an injury in the semimembranosus muscle of his left thigh. More recently, between September and October, he did not play against the two rivals again, but this time due to a grade 2 injury in the rectus femoris muscle of his right thigh.

Finally, in the most recent classic against Palmeiras, Neymar had recently recovered from the injury in his right thigh and was preserved by a joint decision between his staff and Santos' medical department. According to football director Alexandre Mattos, the star still needed to follow a process of evolution to avoid recurrence.

Neymar's numbers against Palmeiras

In Brazilian football, Palmeiras is one of Neymar's favorite victims while wearing the Santos jersey. In 12 matches against the alviverde rival, the star scored seven times and contributed with four assists, totaling 11 goal involvements.

The attacking midfielder's record against Palmeiras, however, is balanced and even slightly favors Verdão. Between 2009 and 2013, Neymar's Santos achieved four victories, three draws, and suffered five defeats.

In his last encounter with Palmeiras, Peixe's number 10 was a starter and assisted Cícero's goal. On that occasion, after a 1-1 draw in regular time, Peixe defeated the opponent on penalties and secured a spot in the 2013 Paulista Championship semifinals at Vila Belmiro.

Now, the star seeks to make a difference again so that Santos can leave the field with three points and exit the relegation zone. The Santos team is in 17th place with 33 points – just two less than Vitória, the first team outside the Z4.

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