WITH SURPRISES ON THE FIELD, TITE OUTLINES FLAMENGO'S SQUAD TO FACE CRICIÚMA

Flamengo drew 1-1 with Vasco last Sunday (15), in the 26th round of the Brazilian Championship. Gabigol, who started the match on the bench, only entered the field in the last seven minutes. However, before starting the warm-up, the striker provoked the rival fans.

Gabigol made the number six sign with his hands towards the Vasco fans, remembering the 6-1 rout inflicted by Flamengo on June 2nd. On that occasion, Mengão beat their Rio rival in a game valid for the seventh round of the Brasileirão.

The number 99 had scored one of the six goals in the victory over Vasco in the first round. Upon return, despite Pedro's absence in the red and black attack, Gabigol had little playing time.

Situation in the Brasileirão

Despite Gabigol's provocation, Flamengo remained in the fourth position in the Brasileirão table, with 45 points. Vasco occupies eighth place, with 35 points.

Turning the key

With Gabigol available, Flamengo turns its attention to the Libertadores quarter-finals. On Thursday (19), Mais Querido will face Peñarol (URU) at Maracanã, starting at 7pm (Brasília time).

Flamengo starts a new week with a focus on the Libertadores da América. On Thursday (19), Mengão will face Peñarol in the opening of the quarter-finals, at 9:30 pm, at Maracanã. Expectations are high on the Uruguayan side as well. After a 4-0 thrashing over Rampla Juniors on Saturday, coach Diego Aguirre commented on his team's moment and indicated who the starting lineup will be.

Aguirre mentioned the lack of pace of play due to the reduced number of matches recently. The team spent 15 days without playing between August 21st and September 7th due to mourning the death of Juan Izquierdo and another seven days until this Saturday's rout. Therefore, Peñarol arrives to face Flamengo with just two games in the last 30 days. Despite this, the coach valued the time to train the team.

The coach also spoke about a possible absence of Leonardo Fernández in the clash against Flamengo, as the striker appeared to be in pain during the match against Rampla Juniors. However, Aguirre hinted that the starter will be available, although he praised the squad as a whole.

Diego Aguirre was asked about possible changes in the starting lineup for the duel against Flamengo. He stated that he does not intend to make major changes to the team that has performed well, having won the last two games. Therefore, Peñarol should start the match with the preferred 4-4-2 formation.

The Uruguayan team tends to have less ball possession in the Libertadores, with an average of 44.5%, but has a quality midfield and fast players on the sides to supply the attackers when they recover the ball. Léo Fernández is the competition's assist leader, with three, and Maximiliano Silvera is the top scorer, with five goals.

Peñarol's probable lineup for the game against Flamengo is: Washington Aguerre; Pedro Milans, Javier Méndez, Guzmán Rodríguez and Maximiliano Oliveira; Javier Cabrera, Damián García, Eduardo Darías and Jaime Báez; Leonardo Fernández and Maximiliano Silveira.

It is worth noting that Aguirre has already used a tactical variation away from home in the Libertadores. Against The Strongest, for example, he adopted a 5-4-1 formation to face the altitude of La Paz. On that occasion, Jaime Báez was replaced by another defender, Léo Coelho. Furthermore, Gastón Ramírez, the experienced Uruguayan midfielder, comes into practically every game from the bench.

In a classic valid for the 26th round of the Brasileirão, Flamengo suffered a draw at Maracanã against Vasco, conceding a goal at the end of the match. Despite a good performance, Mengão only gained one point and saw their chances of winning the Brazilian Championship diminish even further.

Leader of the championship at one point in the first round, Flamengo fell in the standings due to a series of stumbles and a bad start on the return, stagnating in fourth place. Currently, with the focus clearly on the cup competitions, Rubro-Negro has only a 4% chance of winning the Brasileirão, according to a statistical survey by 'InfoBola'.

In the lead of the odds, Botafogo appears with a 60% chance of being champion, followed by Palmeiras with 17% and Fortaleza with 16%.

Not long ago More than 15 days, before the clashes against Corinthians and Vasco, Flamengo was in third place, with significantly greater chances of winning the title. At that time, according to GE data, Mengão had almost four times more chances of lifting the cup than it does now, around 15%.

While Fortaleza's chance, which was leader, fell to half, the odds of Botafogo, which currently leads, have doubled compared to the InfoBola study.