Tomorrow, Palmeiras play Coritiba for the 35th round of the Brazilian Championship. Most teams have already concluded 36 games, but Palmeiras’ participation on the Club World Cup left the team lagging: in addition to tomorrow’s game, Palmeiras play São Paulo (34th round) this upcoming Friday the 19th. Yes, rather insane.
In the first 34 matches, Palmeiras accumulated 56 points, with fifteen victories, eleven draws and eight defeats. Since our last review, Palmeiras have won the Libertadores Cup and made a disappointing exhibition at the Club World Cup. The team having its attention split between several tournaments effectively put an end to the possibility of this year lifting the eleventh Brazilian League title.
Currently, Palmeiras’ Brasileirão campaign is the worst since 2016. A victory against Coritiba would take the team to 59 points, one short of the 2017 campaign, where we had 60 points in the 35th round.
Losing to Flamengo and Ceará made Palmeiras accumulate eight Brasileirão defeats this season. The number is the same as of runners-up Flamengo and only one more than leaders Internacional, showing that not defeats but rather the excessive number of draws removed Palmeiras from the title contenders. Compared to previous seasons, the number is only superior to 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Palmeiras currently sit in sixth position, with the possibility of climbing to fifth if returning home with the three points from tomorrow’s clash with already relegated Coritiba. Palmeiras have guaranteed a spot in next year’s Libertadores Cup (as reigning champions), so there’s really nothing significant at stake for us in the remaining league games to be played. Again, with no time to rest and with the upcoming Brazil Cup finals, expect alternative line-ups and some experimenting from Abel’s side throughout the reminder of the tournament, save the derby against SPFC.
Scoppia che la vittoria è nostra!
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by Augusto Anteghini Oazi
*Here at Anything Palmeiras, we love football. We love Palmeiras. We are always keen to see Palmeiras play, and keen to write about it for you. But we’re against the return of football in a country that still hasn’t controlled the coronavirus pandemic. We express our deepest sympathy to the families whose loved ones have been taken by the disease.
ANYTHING PALMEIRAS 