Palmeiras face marathon before Flamengo clash, eye Brasileirão lead | OneFootball

Palmeiras takes the field this Saturday (2) against Santos at Allianz Parque, focused on keeping the lead in the Brazilian Championship and also on the possibility of extending its advantage over second-place Flamengo.

Verdão has 32 points, compared to 26 for the Rio club, which has a game in hand and could reach 29. Little by little, the two are starting to pull away from the rest: Fluminense has 26 points and São Paulo 23, rounding out the top four.

Run until the break

Until the break for the World Cup at the end of May, there are five rounds left — the championship will be paused after the 18th round, one before the end of the first half of the season.

During this stretch, Palmeiras and Flamengo will have different paths. The São Paulo side will face opponents from the lower part of the table, such as Santos, Remo and Chapecoense, as well as Cruzeiro and Flamengo itself.

Flamengo, meanwhile, will have a tougher run, with matchups against top teams such as Grêmio, Athletico and Palmeiras itself, in addition to Vasco.

The head-to-head clash between the leaders is scheduled for May 23 at 9 p.m. at the Maracanã, in the 17th round.

Difference in rest

Internally, Palmeiras’ coaching staff has shown discomfort with the difference in recovery time compared to Flamengo.

A survey carried out by the club points out that Flamengo has had longer intervals between matches, with several three-day windows, while Palmeiras has faced a run of games with only two days of rest.

Both teams will have grueling schedules before the direct showdown. The São Paulo side will play seven matches in 21 days, with only 15 rest days during the period — on several occasions, with just two days between one match and the next.

Flamengo will also play seven matches, but in 20 days, with 14 rest days, having more three-day intervals between fixtures.

Palmeiras schedule:

7 matches and 15 rest days in 21 days

Flamengo schedule:

7 matches and 14 rest days in 20 days

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