Palmeiras line-up: Abel Ferreira set for 'boost' v Fluminense | OneFootball

Palmeiras began preparations on Thursday morning (13), at the Football Academy, for the match against Fluminense, scheduled for Saturday (15) at 4:30 p.m. at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, for the 23rd round of the Brazilian Championship.

Leading the national competition with 48 points, Verdão heads into the clash after a 1-1 draw with Cerro Porteño of Paraguay on Wednesday night (12) in the first leg of the CONMEBOL Libertadores round of 16.

In the first half of the Brasileirão season, Palmeiras and Fluminense faced each other at Arena Crefisa Barueri, with the green-and-white side winning 2-1. On that occasion, Allan and Vitor Roque scored the goals for Abel Ferreira’s team.

Squad split during training

The players who logged more minutes against Cerro Porteño did recovery work at the recovery and neuroscience center. The other athletes went out onto the pitch and took part in an 11-on-11 training match, with the presence of youth academy players.

The main news from training was Bruno Fuchs. Having recovered from appendicitis surgery, the defender returned to full-time work with the rest of the squad.

Khellven and Paulinho, who are recovering from muscle injuries, also took part in activities on the pitch, in addition to indoor work, under the supervision of the Health and Performance Department.

Palmeiras will hold one more training session on Friday morning (14) and will then travel to Rio de Janeiro.

Century-old rivalry

The matchup between Palmeiras and Fluminense will complete 100 years in 2026. The first meeting between the clubs took place on May 30, 1926, in a friendly at Parque Antarctica, with the Fiat Cup at stake.

In that historic clash, Palestra Italia won 3-2, with goals by Ebraico, an own goal, Amílcar Barbuy, and Melle. Fluminense also missed a penalty when the scoreboard already showed a green-and-white lead.

Palmeiras aims to repeat feat in the Brasileirão

Verdão is unbeaten in its last three matches against Fluminense and will have the chance to beat the rival in both halves of the Brazilian Championship season for the fifth time in the round-robin era.

Palmeiras already achieved the feat in 2007, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Fluminense, in turn, also won both meetings in the same Brasileirão edition against the São Paulo club on four occasions: 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2024.

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