Debut day! Vasco visit Paysandu for an edge in the Copa do Brasil | OneFootball

Vasco takes the field this Tuesday (21) at 9:30 p.m. to face Paysandu at Mangueirão stadium in Belém. The decisive match is the first leg of the fifth round of the Copa do Brasil. Live coverage of the clash will be available nationwide on the pay TV channels SporTV and Premiere, as well as through the digital platform GE TV.

The home side comes in highly motivated as they look to pull off an upset in this knockout stage of the tournament. The hosts are enjoying a solid unbeaten run in Serie C of the Brazilian Championship and advanced in the competition after securing a heroic qualification in the previous round. Looking to make the most of that positive momentum, head coach Júnior Rocha will send out his starters aiming to build an advantage at home.

+ Vasco releases squad list and travels to face Paysandu

Season recovery and Renato Gaúcho’s adjustments

The mood in the dressing room improved significantly after the important win over São Paulo in the Brasileirão. The positive result ended an uncomfortable losing streak and gave new life to head coach Renato Gaúcho’s work. Despite the restored calm, the Vasco manager is planning a few tactical adjustments to ensure the squad maintains the intensity needed for today’s match.

In defense, the starting center-back pairing of Colombian Cuesta and Robert Renan is expected to be retained. With that decision, Uruguayan Saldivia will remain an option on the bench. The main confirmed absence is full-back Paulo Henrique, who picked up an injury in the last match and did not travel with the squad to the country’s northern region.

Puma Rodríguez takes over as Vasco starter

With the usual starter unavailable, the right-back spot will be handed to Puma Rodríguez. The player scored from the penalty spot last weekend and is enjoying an excellent spell in attack, standing alone as Vasco’s current top scorer this year. He has taken over as the team’s official penalty taker and earned the full trust of the coaching staff.

Vasco’s likely lineup will be: Léo Jardim; Puma Rodríguez, Cuesta, Robert Renan and Cuiabano; Barros, Thiago Mendes and Tchê Tchê; Adson, David and Andrés Gómez.

The match officials will be led by referee Ramon Abatti Abel (SC), assisted by Alex dos Santos (SC) and Henrique Neu Ribeiro (SC). VAR will be operated by Daiane Muniz (SP).

Photo: Twitter/X Vasco

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