Another level! Journalist says Flamengo no longer sees Vasco as a great rival

Flamengo will have two important absences for the duel against Bahia, this Sunday (5), at 6:30 pm, at Arena Fonte Nova, for the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship . Defender Léo Pereira and full-back Alex Sandro received their third yellow card in the goalless draw against Cruzeiro and are serving an automatic suspension.

Alex Sandro was cautioned in the 11th minute for a hard foul on Christian without the ball. Léo Pereira was booked for fouling Kaio Jorge, accumulating infractions that resulted in a suspension . The absence of the duo forces changes in the red-and-black defense.

PROBABLE LINEUP

With the absences, coach Filipe Luís is expected to make changes. The likely starting lineup includes Rossi; Varela (or Emerson Royal), Danilo, Léo Ortiz, and Viña (or Ayrton Lucas); Jorginho (Allan or De La Cruz), Saúl, and Arrascaeta; Samuel Lino, Gonzalo Plata (or Carrascal), and Pedro . Leading the table with 55 points, Flamengo is looking to open up a gap over Palmeiras and Cruzeiro, who are closely tied.

BAHIA ARRIVES FOR THE GAME WITH CASUALTIES

On the other side, Bahia faces a crisis of absences. There are 13 confirmed absences—between suspensions and injuries—in addition to doubts like Ramos Mingo, who was injured in the last match. The Esquadrão, currently sixth with 40 points , will face an even greater challenge against the championship leader.

Bahia will have great difficulties when facing Flamengo this Sunday (5), in the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship. The team led by Rogério Ceni has 13 absences, a record number of the season , for the clash at Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador, at 6:30 pm (Brasília time).

The Tricolor de Aço will have absences across all positions: goalkeeper, defense, full-backs, midfield, and attack. Nine players are injured and four are suspended, forcing the coach to resort to an alternative formation to face the league leaders.

Among the players missing are Luciano Juba, Rodrigo Nestor, Santiago Arias, and Sanabria , as well as players recovering from injuries like Kanu and Erick. The situation forces Ceni to assemble a new defense and even consider potential debutants.

COMPLETE LIST OF ABSENCES

• Goalkeeper: João Paulo (knee injury)
• Full-backs: Santiago Arias (suspended), Luciano Juba (suspended and muscle injury)
• Defenders: Gabriel Xavier (suspended), Ramos Mingo (thigh injury), David Duarte (physical transition), Kanu (return from surgery)
• Midfield: Rodrigo Nestor (suspended), Caio Alexandre (muscle injury), Erick (transition from surgery)
• Forwards: Sanabria (suspended), Erick Pulga (muscle injury), Ruan Pablo (injury)

PROBABLE LINEUP

With so many absences, Rogério Ceni should send an alternative team to the field against Flamengo : Ronaldo; Gilberto, Fredi, Rezende and Zé Guilherme; Acevedo, Jean Lucas and Everton Ribeiro; Kayky, Iago Borduchi (or Michel Araújo, Tiago or Cauly) and Willian José.

Flamengo should present important changes in the starting lineup for the match against Bahia this Sunday (5) , valid for the 27th round of the Brazilian Championship . After the goalless draw against Cruzeiro, at Maracanã, coach Filipe Luís should promote changes in the lineup.

According to information from the ge portal, the tendency is for Rubro-Negro to enter the field with Rossi; Varela, Danilo, Léo Ortiz and Ayrton Lucas; Saúl (or De La Cruz), Jorginho and Arrascaeta; Plata (or Carrascal), Samuel Lino (or Everton Cebolinha) and Pedro.

Regarding the match against Cruzeiro, Danilo, Ayrton Lucas, and Pedro are expected to be new starters . This means Léo Pereira and Alex Sandro, both suspended, and Carrascal will be out of the squad.

TRAINING AT THE CT

The red-black squad returned on Friday afternoon (3), at Ninho do Urubu, starting work for the match. The last training session with the entire group is scheduled for Saturday morning (4) , before the delegation embarks for Salvador.

MATCH BROADCAST

As usual, the official lineup will only be confirmed moments before kickoff, during the pre-match training session . The match will be played at Arena Fonte Nova at 6:30 PM (Brasília time), with exclusive coverage on Premiere.