Who could São Paulo face in the Paulistão semi-final? Possible rivals | OneFootball

São Paulo fans will need to keep an eye on the rivals who still have to play in the quarterfinals to find out who their opponent will be in the semifinal of the Campeonato Paulista and who will have the right to home advantage in the matchup.

This is because, even with the qualification of their rival Palmeiras, who eliminated Capivariano also this Saturday (21), it is still not possible to determine the bracket for the State Championship, which continues to add the points from the classification phase with the results obtained in the knockout stage, keeping the system where the best-ranked team always faces the lowest-ranked.

In São Paulo's specific case, any of the five teams still alive in the competition (Palmeiras and the four playing this Sunday, 22) could be their opponent.

The first quarterfinal match this Sunday, between Novorizontino and Santos, who play at 4pm (Brasília time), will already bring some definition. If the coastal rival qualifies, it will already be impossible for São Paulo to have a derby with Palmeiras in the semifinal.

If the black-and-white team secures their spot on penalties, it already defines the green-and-white as the opponent. A Santos win in regular time only allows them to escape facing Palmeiras if Corinthians eliminate Portuguesa also on penalties, in the last semifinal this Sunday, at 6:30pm (Brasília time), at Canindé. For Novorizontino, a win by any score puts them back as the overall leader in the standings.

In the nighttime São Paulo derby, a Lusa qualification, regardless of the result, puts them ahead of São Paulo in the table. If they win the match and Novorizontino qualifies on penalties or loses, they take over second place overall in this scenario. Corinthians overtake Tricolor if they win in 90 minutes.

Speaking of home advantage, São Paulo only has two possibilities to be the home team in the semifinal: if Santos qualifies, in any situation, and if Corinthians qualify, but only on penalties. In this case, Tricolor's opponent will be the rival with the better campaign. All other combinations leave the Morumbi club, which will not be able to use its stadium, rented out for a concert by the Australian rock band AC/DC.

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