Palmeiras line-up: Abel set to field strongest XI for Choque-Rei | OneFootball

Palmeiras held another training session on the morning of Friday (23), at the Football Academy, in preparation for the classic match against São Paulo, scheduled for Saturday (24) at Arena Crefisa Barueri, for the fifth round of the Campeonato Paulista. So far, the Verdão has three wins and one loss in the state competition.

After activation at the Center of Excellence, the players took to the field for drills focused on improving offensive plays and marking. Following this, the coaching staff conducted a technical training session in a reduced space, with specific emphases. As in recent days, Vitor Roque continued with an individualized schedule, while Andreas Pereira continued his physical transition process, both working full-time. Meanwhile, Lucas Evangelista returned to participate in activities on the adjacent field, alongside youth academy players.

Speak, Sosa!

After training, forward Ramón Sosa spoke about the team's preparation and highlighted the importance of the Choque-Rei for getting back on the winning track.

Having scored the decisive goal in the 3-2 comeback victory over São Paulo in the second round of the 2025 Brazilian Championship, Sosa recalled the special moment experienced in the last clash between the teams.

Palmeiras is enjoying a long unbeaten streak against their rival. It has been nine matches without a loss to São Paulo, with five wins and four draws since the last defeat in July 2023. This is the club's second-best streak in the history of the confrontation, matching the record set between July 1975 and March 1977. The longest unbeaten run occurred between August 2017 and January 2020, when Verdão went ten consecutive games without losing to the rival.

Under the command of the Portuguese coaching staff, Palmeiras has played 67 São Paulo classics, with only 15 losses, along with 32 wins and 20 draws. Of these encounters, 28 were against São Paulo, the most faced opponent in Brazil, with 11 wins, 10 draws, and seven losses. Against Corinthians, there were 21 games (eight wins, eight draws, and five losses), while against Santos, the record is 13 wins, two draws, and three losses in 18 matches.

The staff also reached the milestone of 400 games in charge of Verdão, with 232 wins, 93 draws, and 75 losses, in addition to 675 goals scored and 324 conceded. This achievement consolidates the group as the coaching staff with the most consecutive matches in the club's history and the sixth longest-serving in Brazilian football, with five years and two months of work.

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