Botafogo and Palmeiras meet on Sunday at 18:30 at Nilton Santos in the 26th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, with the game set to carry real weight for both ends of the table. Premiere, CazéTV and Record will show it, and ge will follow it in real time.
The timing matters because Botafogo has gone more than a month without a win in the Brasileirão and enters the match on the back of a 3-0 loss to Flamengo. It had 30 points and sat in the second half of the table, while Palmeiras opened the round on top with 52 points and a one-point lead over Flamengo.
For Botafogo, the plan points away from a three-center-back system and toward a back four, with Bellão left with only Marçal available at left back because of injuries in the position. The probable side includes Gabriel Batista, Vitinho, Ferraresi, Justino or Monzón, Marçal, Huguinho, Medina, Danilo, Montoro, Danilo Pereira and Arthur Cabral, a shape built to fit what is available rather than what was preferred.
Palmeiras, meanwhile, arrives with its own absences and a referee file that adds another layer to the afternoon. Arthur is out after a red card, and Palmeiras tried to overturn the suspension by arguing that the foul belonged to Lucas Evangelista, but the STJD rejected the appeal. Abel Ferreira, who was suspended by the STJD for kicking a microphone against Mirassol, received an effect suspensivo and is allowed to coach the match. The probable lineup also leaves one open spot up front, where Vitor Roque could start or stay on the bench, with Carlos Miguel, Giay, Gómez or Barboza, Murilo, Piquerez, Marlon Freitas, Andreas Pereira, Jhon Arias, Mauricio, Flaco López and Vitor Roque or Lucas Evangelista or Felipe Anderson all in the frame.
Palmeiras also lists Paulinho, Ramón Sosa and Jefté as injury absences, while Botafogo misses Kaio Pantaleão, Paulinho and Barrera. Rodrigo José Pereira de Lima will referee the match, with Francisco Chaves Bezerra Júnior and Karla Renata Cavalcanti de Santana as assistants and Gilberto Rodrigues Castro Junior on VAR. For Botafogo, the task is to stop the slide; for Palmeiras, it is to protect a lead while juggling three competitions at once.
The next thing to watch is whether Vitor Roque is named from the start or held back as a second-half option, because that decision will say plenty about how Palmeiras wants to handle a match that could shape the top of the league before the round is done.
