Flamengo and Coritiba will meet on Saturday at 16h at Maracanã in the 18th round of the Brasileirão, with the home side carrying a stripped-down squad into a match it could not get moved. Flamengo asked the CBF to postpone the game because of its many absences, but the request was denied.
The game is drawing attention now because Flamengo enters it as the Brasileirão vice-leader after a 3-0 loss to Palmeiras at Maracanã in the previous round, while also coming off a midweek win that sent it through in the Conmebol Libertadores. Coritiba, in sixth place, sees the visit as a chance to move closer to the Libertadores qualification zone, and the match will be shown live on sportv and Premiere, with ge following in real time and exclusive videos.
Flamengo’s selection problems are severe. The club has 10 absences among call-ups, injuries and suspensions, leaving the coaching staff to reshuffle almost every line. The probable team has Rossi; Emerson Royal, Léo Ortiz, Vitão and Ayrton Lucas; Evertton Araújo, Pulgar and Luiz Araújo; Samuel Lino, Bruno Henrique or Saúl and Pedro. Danilo, Alex Sandro, Lucas Paquetá and De la Cruz are out because of call-ups, while Léo Pereira, Carrascal and Varela are missing after suspensions and call-ups. Arrascaeta is sidelined by a right shoulder injury and a call-up, Plata is also away on international duty, and Jorginho is out with a right foot injury.
That shortage is what made Flamengo’s request to delay the match so pointed. The club is trying to recover from a heavy home defeat to Palmeiras, but instead of a calmer reset it has been forced into a weekend fixture with academy reinforcements likely to be needed on the bench. Coritiba, by contrast, arrives with one of the league’s stronger away records, the third-best in the competition behind Palmeiras and Flamengo.
Coritiba also gets a small boost from the return of Lucas Ronier. He completed intensive treatment during the week after improvement in muscle edema in the back of his right thigh and is expected to be a reserve option, while the visitors’ attack should again feature Lavega, Breno Lopes and Pedro Rocha. For Flamengo, the final answer still waits on the team sheet, but the shape of the match is already clear: a contender with a depleted squad trying to avoid another stumble, and a visitor with enough form away from home to make the afternoon at Maracanã awkward.
