Santos and Palmeiras will meet on Wednesday at 19:30 in Vila Belmiro in a match that could reshape the Brasileirão race. Neymar will miss it after being sent off against Bahia, and Santos is expected to keep the same lineup from the last round except for one change.
That change points to Christian Oliva, whom Cuca signaled as Neymar's replacement. For Santos, the timing matters because the team still needs points to stay alive in the chase for next year's Conmebol Libertadores, while Palmeiras arrives with 69 points and only one point behind Flamengo at the top.
The stakes are not equal, but they are high on both sides. Abel Ferreira has six matches left, and Palmeiras also knows the direct meeting with Flamengo comes in the 34th round at the end of November. That is why every detail of this visit to Vila Belmiro matters now, not later.
Palmeiras will have Piquerez and Andreas Pereira back after suspensions against Bragantino, and Vitor Roque trained with the group, so he has a chance to be related again. Even so, Ramón Sosa is out with a right thigh injury, Jefté is suspended by a preventive doping measure, and Paulinho is unavailable with a right calf trauma, which leaves room for one more late decision before kickoff.
For Santos, the problem is less about who returns than who is missing. Neymar was expelled after putting his hand over his mouth while speaking to Rodrigo Nestor against Bahia, and Santos will have to answer that absence on a night when Premiere will broadcast the game for all of Brazil and ge will follow every move in real time. The next firm answer comes at the whistle on Wednesday, when the lineup choices become results instead of plans.
