Botafogo host Corinthians on Sunday at 16h at Estádio Nilton Santos in the 16th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, with the home side starting the day in 14th place and only one point above the relegation zone. For Botafogo, the match arrives after nearly a month without a Brasileirão win, a run that has left little margin for error.
The Rio club will not have Júnior Santos, who suffered a fissure in his foot, and Joaquín Correa and Bastos were left out of the squad. Matheus Martins remains unavailable, while Mateo Ponte, Alex Telles and Cristian Medina are all on two yellow cards and must avoid another booking with São Paulo ahead. Botafogo have also come into the game on the back of elimination in the Copa do Brasil to Chapecoense, which only sharpens the pressure on a side that last home match before the World Cup break is against Corinthians.
Corinthians arrive with their own absences. Gabriel Paulista is suspended, and André Ramalho is expected to take his place in defense. André and Allan are back from suspension, and Gui Negão has been called up again. Memphis Depay remains out, while Charles, Kayke, Vitinho, Hugo and João Pedro Tchoca are also unavailable. Zakaria Labyad did not travel because of pain in his right knee.
That leaves Corinthians with a reshuffled squad but also with some reinforcement at a key moment. The return of André and Allan gives the visitors more options, and Gui Negão’s inclusion adds another name to a bench that has been thinned by injuries and suspensions. Botafogo, by contrast, have to manage both the need for points and the risk of future suspensions, with several starters already one yellow card from a ban.
The match will be shown live on TV Globo across Brazil except Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul, and on Premiere. Felipe Fernandes de Lima of Minas Gerais will referee the game, with Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira and Celso Luiz da Silva as assistants and Marco Aurelio Augusto Fazekas Ferreira on VAR. In a game loaded with pressure at both ends of the table, Botafogo need a result more urgently than they need another warning about what comes next.
