Palmeiras wary of suspensions, seek full squad for Choque-Rei | OneFootball

The Palmeiras continues to chase the leader of the Brazilian Championship, but faces a tough challenge this Wednesday. The Alviverde hosts Vasco starting at 7 PM (Brasília time), at Allianz Parque, for the 25th round of the national competition.

However, some players from the Palmeiras squad will need to exercise extra caution when entering the field. Verdão has a list of seven players on the brink who, if they receive a third yellow card, will need to serve a suspension in the Choque-Rei, valid for the next round of Serie A.

The list of players on the brink for Palmeiras includes goalkeeper Weverton, defender Gustavo Gómez, full-back Piquerez, midfielders Emiliano Martínez and Lucas Evangelista, and forwards Vitor Roque and Facundo Torres. Assistant coach of Abel Ferreira, Vitor Castanheira also has two yellow cards.

From this list, the tendency is that only four will be starters in the match against Vasco: Weverton, Gómez, Piquerez, and Vitor Roque. Lucas Evangelista would also be in the starting 11, but he suffered a tendon injury in his right thigh and will undergo surgery.

Piquerez is still a doubt for Palmeiras' starting lineup. The left-back trained normally with the rest of the squad last Tuesday after recovering from a knee injury, but he might be rested by the coaching staff due to the importance of the classic against São Paulo. He should at least be on the bench.

The other players, like Emiliano Martínez and Facundo Torres, may be used by Abel during the match. Even so, the rule is clear: if any of the seven players on the brink receive a third yellow card (or even a red), they will serve a suspension in the Choque-Rei.

Absences for the classic

Palmeiras already has two confirmed absences for the classic against São Paulo. The first is forward Paulinho, who is recovering from a surgery on his right leg performed in July and remains out. The club has not disclosed a recovery timeline, but the tendency is that he will return only next year.

The second absence is more recent. Midfielder Lucas Evangelista ruptured the tendon of the posterior muscle in his right thigh and will need surgery to fix the issue. He is out for the rest of the season and is also expected to return only in 2026.

Thus, Palmeiras hopes to avoid any new 'headaches' for the Choque-Rei. Verdão aims to avoid suspensions to have a fully strengthened squad against the tricolor rival, who will still have the advantage of playing the classic at Morumbis.

Palmeiras' situation in the Brazilian Championship

Palmeiras is in third place in the Brazilian Championship, with 49 points – five less than the leader Flamengo. Verdão is coming off a 1-0 defeat to Bahia and saw the Carioca Rubro-Negro increase their lead at the top of the table.

Upcoming matches for Palmeiras

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