Tricky derby and cup deciders: São Paulo's challenges in May | OneFootball

May has already arrived, and São Paulo is preparing for its final nine matches before the break for the World Cup, which begins at the end of this month and will be crucial for the club in several competitions.

Tricolor will play five matches in the Brasileirão, three in the Copa Sudamericana, and one against Juventude, which will decide who advances to the round of 16 of this year’s Copa do Brasil.

The tough run begins this Sunday (3) at 4:00 p.m. (Brasília time), against Bahia in the Brasileirão, at Cícero de Souza Marques stadium in Bragança Paulista, since Morumbi has been made available for concerts.

Then, Roger Machado’s squad will travel to Chile for the start of the second half of this Sudamericana group stage, on the 7th, to face O’Higgins. Leaders of Group C, São Paulo are aiming to qualify directly in 1st place, without the need for playoffs if they finish 2nd in the group.

Soon after, another tough away match. Tricolor will go to Itaquera to take on Diniz’s in-form Corinthians in the 15th round of the league, on Sunday, May 10.

Three days later, São Paulo will play away from home once again, against Juventude, in the second leg of the 5th phase of the Copa do Brasil. At Morumbi, they beat the team from Rio Grande do Sul 1-0, giving them a slim advantage for the clash that will be decided at Alfredo Jaconi stadium, in Caxias do Sul (RS).

The final stretch before the club football break will feature five matches, three in the Brasileirão and the two decisive games for qualification in the Copa Sudamericana.

Tricolor will face Fluminense away, Botafogo at Morumbi, and Remo in Belém (PA). In the South American competition, they will host Colombia’s Millonarios and Uruguay’s Boston River at their stadium to secure their place in the next stage of the Sudamericana.

Then São Paulo will go almost two months without matches, returning to the pitch a few days after the World Cup final, which will be on July 19. The Brasileirão is expected to resume around July 22, with a match between Tricolor and Athletico-PR hosted by São Paulo, though it is still unclear whether Morumbi will be available, as it will have another run of concerts in the second half of the year.

See the full list of Tricolor’s matches in May:

São Paulo x Bahia Brasileirão – 5/3 – 4:00 p.m. Cícero de Souza Marques

O’Higgins x São Paulo Sudamericana – 5/7 – 7:00 p.m. El Teniente – Chile

Corinthians x São Paulo Brasileirão – 5/10 – 6:30 p.m. Neo Química Arena

Juventude x São Paulo Copa do Brasil – 5/13 – 7:00 p.m. Alfredo Jaconi

Fluminense x São Paulo Brasileirão – 5/16 – 8:30 p.m. Maracanã

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