Palmeiras: Mirassol could tip the scales in Brasileirão title race | OneFootball

Amid the increasingly fierce battle for the top spot in the Brazilian Championship, an unexpected team could play an important role in the title race: Mirassol.

The team from the interior of São Paulo will face, in a span of just three days, Palmeiras and Flamengo, precisely the top two teams in the competition. The scenario turns Leão into something of a “deciding factor” in the battle for the trophy.

The first match will be this Sunday (30), against Palmeiras, at José Maria de Campos Maia Stadium, Maião, for the 25th round. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time). Verdão comes in as the leader with 51 points, while Mirassol sits in 17th place, inside the relegation zone, with 24 points.

Three days later, on Wednesday (2), the opponent will be Flamengo. The clash will take place at the Maracanã at 7:30 p.m., in a postponed match from the fourth round. Rubro-Negro currently has 45 points and a game in hand compared to Palmeiras. A win over Mirassol would allow Flamengo to cut the gap to the leader to just three points.

Two matches that could change the lead

The sequence is especially significant because Palmeiras and Flamengo are separated by six points in the table. Verdão has already played 24 matches, while Flamengo has played 23.

This means that the match at the Maracanã could directly alter the shape of the title race. If Flamengo beats Mirassol, it will reach 48 points and once again move to within three of Palmeiras, before the direct clash between the two clubs in the second half of the season.

Mirassol comes under pressure

The challenge, however, is also enormous for the São Paulo side itself. Mirassol is in the relegation zone and has not won in its last three Brasileirão rounds. The team has 24 points and is just one behind Internacional, the first club outside the bottom four.

After a recovery that lifted the team from second-bottom to 14th place, Leão has lost ground again. Now, in addition to trying to escape the relegation zone, it will face precisely the two main title contenders.

Mirassol has already faced both of them this season. In the first half of the campaign, it lost 1-0 to Palmeiras in São Paulo. Against Flamengo, however, the most recent meeting ended in a 5-1 rout for Rubro-Negro, at Maião itself.

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