Varela and De la Cruz start as Flamengo face Estudiantes, see lineup | OneFootball

Flamengo is set to face Estudiantes this Thursday at Maracanã in the first leg of the Libertadores quarterfinals. The main change is in the midfield: with Pulgar and Jorginho both injured, Filipe Luís has chosen to start Saúl alongside De La Cruz and Arrascaeta. The teams will face off soon, at 9:30 PM (Brasília time).

In addition to the midfielders, Flamengo will also be without Alex Sandro, who remains in the medical department. Right-back Varela, who has recovered from a pubic injury, returns to the starting lineup. On the other hand, Bruno Henrique, now recovered from muscle pain, is once again available on the bench.

With that, the Rubro-Negro will take the field with: Rossi; Varela, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira, and Ayrton Lucas; De La Cruz, Saúl, and Arrascaeta; Plata, Pedro, and Samuel Lino.

Unbeaten in nine matches and leading the Brazilian Championship, the Rio team aims to take advantage of playing at home to gain an edge before the decisive match next week in La Plata.

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Estudiantes, on the other hand, arrive in Rio de Janeiro under pressure. Seventh in the Argentine Championship, the team is coming off a 2-1 loss to River Plate and is dealing with several absences, including Leandro González and Edwuin Cetré, as well as players already in the medical department.

Flamengo and Estudiantes have faced each other eight times in history, all in the Supercopa Libertadores between 1988 and 1994. The record favors the Brazilians: three wins for Flamengo, four draws, and one win for the Argentinians.

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