Palmeiras eye home double to extend Brasileirão lead | OneFootball

Palmeiras defeated São Paulo in a comeback last Sunday and took the lead in the Brazilian Championship, matching Flamengo's score, but surpassing the rival in the tiebreak criteria. Now, Verdão has a home doubleheader as a trump card to open a gap at the top of the table.

Alviverde hosts Juventude this Saturday, at 7pm (Brasília time), at Allianz Parque, in a delayed match from the 12th round of Serie A. If they win, the team led by coach Abel Ferreira can open a three-point lead over Flamengo, which is going through a moment of instability and has only won one of the last five matches.

The alviverde fans promise to push the team until the last minute in the duel against Juventude. As of last Wednesday afternoon, more than 17,000 tickets had already been sold for the clash at Allianz. General ticket sales start at 10am this Thursday.

Next, Palmeiras faces off against Red Bull Bragantino, again at home, next Wednesday (15), also at 7pm. The match, however, is already valid for the continuation of the Brasileirão, which is in the 28th round.

The last series of home matches ended with an extremely positive balance for Palmeiras. On September 20, Verdão thrashed Fortaleza 4-1 in the Brasileirão. Then, on the 24th, they beat River Plate 3-1 and advanced to the Copa Libertadores semifinals.

Against Fortaleza, 35,324 fans were present at Allianz Parque to support the alviverde squad. In the next game, 40,893 people watched Palmeiras' qualification to the Libertadores semifinals in person. The trend, therefore, is for a good crowd in this new home sequence.

Headache for Abel

Coach Abel Ferreira will have a headache to line up Palmeiras in the next two games, especially in this Saturday's match against Juventude. The coach will not have eight players available, including those called up, suspended, and injured.

The coach will not be able to count on the called up Aníbal Moreno and Flaco López (Argentina), Emiliano Martínez and Facundo Torres (Uruguay), Gustavo Gómez (Paraguay), as well as Vitor Roque (suspended), Paulinho (right leg surgery) and Lucas Evangelista (right thigh surgery).

Palmeiras' numbers as a host in the Brasileirão

Palmeiras is the fourth best host in the Brasileirão, with a 74.4% success rate and 29 points earned. There are nine wins, two draws, and only two losses at home.

In terms of success rate and points earned, Verdão is only behind Cruzeiro (76.2%), Flamengo (76.2%) and Bahia (76.9%). Raposa and Rubro-Negro earned 32 points each, under these conditions, while Tricolor de Aço added 30.

The alviverde team also defends an eight-game unbeaten streak at Allianz Parque in the Brasileirão. There's one draw (Mirassol) and seven wins (Atlético-MG, Grêmio, Ceará, Sport, Internacional, Fortaleza and Vasco). The last loss was in May, 2-0 to Flamengo, in the 10th round.

Palmeiras' situation in the Brasileirão

Palmeiras took the lead in the Brasileirão last Sunday, after defeating São Paulo, 3-2, in the 27th round. The result left Verdão with 55 points, tied with Flamengo, but with one more win than the Rio team.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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