The dessert of this football weekend comes from Brazil on Sunday evening, when the Derby Paulista between Corinthians and Palmeiras is kicked off in Sao Paulo. For the supporter groups of both teams, this is the most important game of the year!
Corinthians:
The current eighth place is of course unworthy of Corinthians, but Timao has come out of the Copa America break with two wins and a draw. The difference with the Brazilian top four – and therefore direct qualification – for the Copa Libertadores is therefore only two points. Winning the national title is also still possible, although the city derby of Sao Paulo must necessarily yield three points. Palmeiras enjoys a lead of no less than ten points on the team of coach Fabio Carille.
The hope of Corinthians is mainly based on good old Vagner Love, which you probably know from his periods at CSKA Moscow and Besiktas, among others. The adventure of the now 35-year-old attacker at Corinthians is not running smoothly so far, because in nine competition appearances he managed to get the net going twice. In the mid-week Copa Sudamericana match against the Uruguayan Montevideo Wanderers, however, he gained confidence by helping his team with two goals to a 1-2 victory. Carille, however, already looked ahead to the squatter against Palmeiras in that game, by keeping players like Danilo Avelar, Manoel, Junior Urso, Junior Sornoza and Pedrinho aside. They will be kicking off on Sunday evening.
Palmeiras:
Palmeiras may still call himself vice-leader with 27 points from twelve rounds, but the Copa America interruption has certainly not done Verdao any good. With two draws and one defeat, Felipe Scolari’s team has not been able to win any league games since the resumption, which means that it has now had to give up the lead to fellow countryman Santos. In addition, Palmeiras was recently eliminated in the Copa do Brasil.
A sporting crisis is therefore in the air in the Allianz Parque. However, in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Palmeiras did good business by beating the Argentinian Godoy Cruz with a whopping 4-0, making it to the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores. Palmeiras also put an end to a series of five games without a win. The vice-leader can work towards Sunday evening with confidence.
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / NO @ 1,50
