Internacional and Grêmio will meet in Gre-Nal 453 on Thursday at 20:00 at Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre, opening their Copa do Brasil quarterfinal tie in a game that already carries knockout consequences. Amazon Prime will show the match, while ge will provide live minute-by-minute coverage.
The timing matters because both clubs arrive with 25 points in the Brasileirão, just one point above the relegation zone, so a cup night now sits beside a league fight that cannot be ignored. Internacional are coming off a 0-0 home draw with Atlético-MG and Grêmio off a 1-0 away loss to Bragantino, results that underline why each side is trying to find something more reliable than one good night.
For Internacional, Matheus Cunha is expected to start in goal after being substituted against Atlético-MG when he collided with the post, and Matheus Bahia returns after serving a Brasileirão suspension. Victor Gabriel is out, but the bigger question for Grêmio is whether Gustavo Martins can recover from a muscle edema in time; if he cannot, Kannemann and Wagner Leonardo are the alternatives at center back. Carlos Vinicius is also expected back in the starting attack after beginning on the bench against Bragantino, while Nardoni and Dodi are both unavailable.
The wider problem is that both teams are trying to treat this as a first-leg cup game without letting the Brasileirão table disappear from view. Internacional have the second-worst home record in the league, and Grêmio have the third-worst away record, which means the same weaknesses that have dragged them into the bottom half are now being tested on a night when one mistake can shape a two-leg quarterfinal. Ramon Abatti Abel will referee the match, with Thiaggo Americano Labes and Michael Stanislau as assistants, Marco Aurelio Augusto Fazekas Ferreira on VAR, and Andre Luiz Skettino Policarpo Bento as fourth official.
Thursday gives both sides their next answer. The first leg will not decide the quarterfinal, but it will tell the winner whether the return match can be approached with control or with pressure already building.
