Palmeiras play 3 league games amid Copa do Brasil; Flamengo get weeks off | OneFootball

The final stretch of the season could create an important difference between Palmeiras and Flamengo in the race for the Brazilian Championship. While Verdão is still alive in all three competitions it is playing in, the Rio club only has the Brasileirão and the Libertadores ahead.

After the 0-0 draw with Grêmio, João Martins pointed out that Palmeiras will have 16 matches ahead, considering the ten remaining rounds of the Brasileirão and the knockout matches in the Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, including the finals if the team advances.

Flamengo, meanwhile, will have 13 matches in the Brasileirão, in addition to the Libertadores semifinal fixtures. The difference lies precisely in the Copa do Brasil, a competition from which Rubro-Negro has already been eliminated.

Copa do Brasil could directly affect the Brasileirão

The biggest point of concern for Palmeiras comes in November.

The Copa do Brasil semifinals against Vasco are scheduled for November 1 and 8. Between those two matches, Verdão will have a Brasileirão fixture against Remo, set for the 4th.

Before that, Palmeiras will also face Santos in the 33rd round, amid the final stretch.

After the second match against Vasco, Abel Ferreira’s team will take on Cruzeiro in the 35th round of the Brasileirão.

The sequence, therefore, is:

Copa do Brasil → Santos → Copa do Brasil → Cruzeiro

That means three Brazilian Championship matches packed into a period in which Palmeiras will also be directly involved in the fight for a place in the Copa do Brasil final.

Flamengo will have a longer gap between competitions

Flamengo’s situation is different.

Without the Copa do Brasil, Rubro-Negro will not have domestic knockout matches in November. The team will be able to focus its preparation on the Brasileirão and the Libertadores.

In the corresponding stretch, Flamengo will face Vasco, Grêmio and Athletico-PR in the Brasileirão, without a Copa do Brasil semifinal in between those matches.

This means that, while Palmeiras will be splitting its attention between the Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil, Flamengo will have preparation periods focused exclusively on its next domestic fixtures — although it is also involved in the Libertadores semifinals.

The Libertadores also weighs heavily in the final stretch

Both clubs are still in the Libertadores. Palmeiras face Fluminense in the semifinals, while Flamengo take on Estudiantes.

The first-leg matches are scheduled for October 14 and 15, and the second legs for October 21 and 22. The final will be played as a single match in Montevideo on November 28.

For Palmeiras, then, the final stretch could be marked by a run of matches in three different competitions. The club itself has adopted the idea of treating the remaining games as “16 finals,” without indicating any priority among the tournaments.

Ten rounds are still to be played

In the Brasileirão, both teams have ten matches left. Palmeiras’ schedule includes Bahia, Corinthians, Athletico-PR, RB Bragantino, Santos, Remo, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Chapecoense and Coritiba.

Flamengo, meanwhile, will face Santos, Fluminense, Bahia, Atlético-MG, Vasco, Grêmio, Athletico-PR, Palmeiras, Coritiba and Chapecoense. The direct clash between the two leaders is scheduled for the 36th round, at Nubank Parque.

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