Palmeiras and Atlético-MG meet on Sunday at 19h30 in São Paulo for the 20th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, with the league leaders playing their first professional match at Nubank Parque under the stadium’s new name. sportv and Premiere will show it live, while ge will follow every moment in real time.
The game arrives with Palmeiras still on top of the table with 44 points from 19 matches and a seven-point cushion over Flamengo after a 3-1 win over Coritiba on Wednesday. Abel Ferreira is back in the technical area, but the team also carries a long list of absences that changes the picture before kickoff.
Khellven, Barboza and Ramón Sosa are suspended after their third yellow card, and Allan is out as well after a STJD punishment that is now in its second match following his sending off against Chapecoense. That leaves Ferreira with limited room to move, even after Paulinho becomes available again and several names return to training.
Giay is recovering from a sprained ankle and still has a chance to be used, while Vitor Roque has worked with the squad during physical transition and Felipe Anderson has also trained while coming back from thigh edema. Flaco López is on break after representing Argentina in the Copa do Mundo and is expected back at the start of next week, so he will not be part of this Sunday’s decision. The probable lineup points to Carlos Miguel; Murilo, Bruno Fuchs and Gustavo Gómez; Giay or Felipe Anderson, Marlon Freitas, Andreas Pereira and Piquerez; Arias, Mauricio and Vitor Roque or Paulinho.
That uncertainty matters because Palmeiras has already built the best points-era first half in its Brasileirão history, yet it now faces a side that sits 13th with 25 points and comes off a 1-1 draw with Bahia at Arena MRV. Eduardo Domínguez will try to take advantage of the gaps, but Palmeiras still has the advantage of form, points and the kind of home setting that now carries a new name. The only real question left is which of the doubtful pieces Ferreira trusts when the team sheet becomes final.
