Rafael Dudamel is set to make four changes to Deportivo Cali's starting lineup for Sunday’s match against Boyacá Chicó in Palmaseca, with three of those adjustments coming in the defensive area. José Caldera and Edwin Velasco are out after reaching five yellow cards, and the reshuffle would bring José Moya in for Caldera, Juan José Tello for Velasco, Leyser Chaverra at right back for Keimer Sandoval, and Johan Martínez for Alexis Manyoma Castillo.
The match is scheduled for Sunday, November 1, 2026, at 4:05 p.m. and is date 17 of Liga Betplay II-2026. Deportivo Cali goes into it third in the standings with 30 points, four behind América and five behind Atlético Nacional, so the margin is still thin enough that every detail of the lineup matters.
That is why the game still carries weight even though Boyacá Chicó has already been officially relegated to the B division after a 1-1 draw against Atlético Junior. For Cali, the opponent’s status does not change the arithmetic: three points would keep it in the hunt for the punto invisible, the tiebreaker that can matter later in the quadrangulars, and Dudamel's decisions on the back line may decide whether the team leaves Palmaseca with that chase intact.
What remains unclear is whether the four planned alterations were only projected before kickoff or whether they were the final XI for the match. By the time the whistle goes at Palmaseca, the answer will matter less than the result, but before then the focus is on whether Cali can turn a forced reshuffle into the kind of win that keeps its push alive.
