Palmeiras and Santos face off in Copa do Brasil quarterfinals

Palmeiras and Santos take the field this Wednesday at 9:30 PM for the first leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals. Santos will be missing Neymar, and the clash pits two opposite realities of the season head-to-head.

Neymar absent for Santos

Neymar will be missing for Santos in the match against Palmeiras, according to the matchday squad list released by the club. The number 10 trained with the squad at CT Rei Pelé, but did not travel to São Paulo, keeping the mystery alive regarding his presence. The player avoids synthetic pitches because he believes they alter the ball bounce and increase the risk to his knee and joints, besides being suspended with two yellow cards.

Palmeiras chases derby record

Palmeiras comes into the match undefeated in state derbies this season, with five wins and two draws, and tries to surpass the record of ten derby wins in a single season, set in 2022. In the Campeonato Paulista they beat Santos 1 to 0, and in the Brasileirão they drew 1 to 1 with Peixe.

Santos' situation in the relegation battle

In the Brasileirão, Santos occupies 14th position with 26 points, just two points ahead of Mirassol, the first club inside the relegation zone. The team has six wins, eight draws, and nine losses in 23 games.

Financial context of the clubs

Palmeiras finalized a transfer agreement with Manchester City for Allan, an amount that could reach around 40 million euros. Santos is facing a transfer ban and has a debt with Monaco of approximately 2 million euros for the signing of Jean Lucas. Among recent reinforcements, Peixe brought in Rony, Moisés, Christian Oliva, and Lucas Veríssimo, while Verdão invested in Jhon Arias, Marlon Freitas, Barboza, and Bruno Bertinato.

With information from GE, UOL.