Corinthians ready for Mirassol away in Brasileirão; striker out | OneFootball

By Fabio Luigi / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Corinthians wrapped up their preparations on Saturday morning (2) at CT Dr. Joaquim Grava to face Mirassol in the 14th round of the 2026 Brazilian Championship. The match will take place on Sunday night (3) at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Estádio Municipal José Maria de Campos Maia. At the moment, Alvinegro sits in 14th place in the national competition with 15 points — three wins, six draws, and four defeats — with nine goals scored and 11 conceded.

The Corinthians squad began the training day in the Flexform Briefing Room, where the coaching staff presented videos on Mirassol’s main characteristics and weaknesses. Afterwards, they went to the gym and carried out physical activation before warming up on the training ground at the CT. On the pitch, Fernando Diniz led tactical drills and attacking and defensive set-piece work with the players.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

In an interview with Corinthians TV, center-back André Ramalho looked ahead to the match against Mirassol and emphasized the importance of continuing the positive run since Fernando Diniz’s arrival — five wins and two draws — as well as the team’s streak without conceding goals since then. In total, the team has scored eight goals and conceded none since the coaching change.

“It’s a game we know is important. We want to keep this run going without conceding goals, with wins. We want to bring the confidence we’ve built in the last few matches into this game and earn an important away victory,” he said.

The defender joined Corinthians in July 2024 after not renewing his contract with PSV of the Netherlands. Wearing the No. 5 shirt, he formed a center-back partnership with Gustavo Henrique during the team’s surge in that year’s Brasileirão (from the relegation zone to the Libertadores preliminary rounds), and was also part of the squads that won the Paulista Championship (2025), the Copa do Brasil (2025), and the Supercopa do Brasil (2026).

Last year, he alternated between the bench and the starting lineup, but finished the year playing regularly under Dorival Jr. In 2026, he lost his spot to Gabriel Paulista, who was signed at the beginning of this year. Overall, he has two goals and one assist in 86 appearances (76 as a starter) for the club from Parque São Jorge.

According to Meu Timão, Corinthians are expected to line up with: Hugo Souza; Matheuzinho, Gabriel Paulista, André Ramalho and Matheus Bidu; Allan, Matheus Pereira, Breno Bidon and Rodrigo Garro; Jesse Lingard and Yuri Alberto.

New absence

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Agência Corinthians

For the match, Corinthians have been dealt the absence of forward Vitinho, who felt pain in his right hip and will not face Mirassol this Sunday. In addition to him, the following were not called up: center-backs Gustavo Henrique (suspended) and João Pedro Tchoca (pubalgia), left-back Hugo Farias (recovering from knee surgery), right-back Matheuzinho (serving the final match of his suspension in addition to the STJD punishment — out due to a third yellow card in the Derby), defensive midfielders Charles (right heel injury), André Luiz (serving a suspension after being sent off against Vasco) and André Carrillo (serving a suspension for a third yellow card), and forward Memphis Depay (physical transition after a grade 2 injury to his right thigh).

The young Gui Negão, in turn, could be among the new additions, as he had been in physical transition after a muscle injury.

The No. 11, after the coaching change, lost space in the squad. Signed in August of last year, he has one goal and one assist in 38 matches (13 as a starter), with 17 wins, nine draws, and 12 defeats — a 52.63% points rate. He was part of the Copa do Brasil (2025) and Supercopa do Brasil (2026) title-winning squads.

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