Santos in the Paulistão: fixtures, squad and record | OneFootball

The 2026 season is about to start! This Saturday, Santos will host Novorizontino for the first round of the Campeonato Paulista. Gazeta Esportiva has highlighted the main points you need to know before Peixe's debut in the Paulistão.

Santos Matches

How is Santos doing?

Santos struggled in 2025 to stay in the Série A of the Brazilian Championship but ended the year encouraged by Juan Pablo Vojvoda's work. The team had a good streak at the end of the season, with six games unbeaten (four wins and two draws).

Santos Squad

The Alvinegro Praiano management decided not to make any rash decisions at the start of the transfer window. The idea was to keep the core that finished 2025, release players who were not being used, and seek specific reinforcements.

The main novelty is Gabigol. The forward was signed on loan from Cruzeiro for one season and aims to improve Santos' offensive system under Vojvoda. Additionally, Neymar renewed his contract until the end of 2026 but will not be available at the start of the Paulista due to an arthroscopy on his left knee.

On the other hand, Guilherme has said his goodbyes. The forward, who faced various criticisms throughout the last season, was sold to Houston Dynamo in the United States.

Santos' History in the Paulistão

Santos is the third club with the most Campeonato Paulista titles, with 22, tied with São Paulo. Corinthians, with 31, and Palmeiras, with 26, are ahead.

However, Peixe is going through a long drought. The last time the team lifted the trophy was in 2016. At that time, Gabigol was part of the Santos squad. Since then, the club has reached the final only once more, in 2024, when they lost to Palmeiras.

In 2025, Alvinegro Praiano led their group and eliminated Red Bull Bragantino in the quarterfinals but stopped in the semifinals, where they were defeated by Corinthians at the Neo Química Arena. On that occasion, Neymar was already part of the squad but was absent from the classic due to a muscle injury.

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Paulistão Format

The tournament will no longer have the traditional group stage. The new format is a league phase, similar to the Champions League, where all teams are in the same standings table. After eight rounds, the top eight will qualify for the knockout stage. The bottom two will be relegated to Série A2.

The knockout stage remains the same: the quarterfinals and semifinals will be single matches, and the final will be played over two legs.

The Paulistão will be held from January 10 to March 8.