Botafogo SP can cause a massive shock in the third-round of the Copa do Brasil should they emerge victorious from their second-leg encounter with Palmeiras on Thursday at Estadio Santa Cruz.
A goal in the dying moments of the opening leg enabled Verdao to come away with a 2-1 triumph, as they aim to qualify for the last 16 of this tournament for a third successive campaign.
Match preview
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For a few minutes, it looked as though Botafogo SP would achieve an incredible result in the opening leg of this tie, levelling that match in the 90th minute, only to concede a winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
That has them on the brink of missing the last 16 of this competition for a third successive campaign, as they have not scored an away goal at the Copa do Brasil since their opening-round victory versus Nova Venecia (2-1) in February.
Paulo Gomes's men are in an attacking slump at the moment, without a goal in four consecutive Serie B fixtures since scoring late in their defeat to Palestra.
Belo have not drawn first blood in a competitive fixture since a 1-1 draw against Guarani at the beginning of March, scoring a goal or fewer in seven successive encounters in all competitions.
They boast a 100% record in 2024 when scoring the opening goal but have only done that in four competitive fixtures all year.
In 11 prior meetings with Palmeiras, the club from Joao Pessoa have only emerged victorious on one occasion, earning a 1-0 triumph in Serie A during the 2001 campaign.
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It took some late heroics, but the four-time Copa do Brasil champions wound up as deserving winners in the opening leg of this tie.
That said, Abel Ferreira's men have not won a second-leg match in the third round of this tournament since defeating Juazeirense 2-1 in May 2022.
The last time they failed to advance beyond the third round of this competition was in 2021, when they saw their one-goal lead over CRB evaporate, losing the return leg 1-0 and exiting that tournament on penalties (5-3).
Coming into this decisive encounter, however, Palmeiras are unbeaten in their last six matches in all competitions away from home, collecting a clean sheet in four of those contests.
Palestra have not lost a competitive fixture when leading or tied at the interval since late March when they lost the opening leg of the Paulista A1 final versus Santos (1-0) but recovered to win the return match 2-0 and lift that trophy.
Their last three meetings with Botafogo SP have resulted in a one-goal victory for Verdao, who are unbeaten in their previous four away matches against them in all competitions, failing to concede on any of those occasions.
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Team News
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Botafogo added four new faces who did not begin their second-round victory versus Anapolis (2-1) into the starting 11 against Palmeiras, including Gustavo Bochecha, Jonas Toro and Alex Sandro.
The other newcomer was Patrick Brey, who notched their equalising goal in the opening leg but saw his side concede at the bitter end.
On the Palmeiras side, Dudu is doubtful for this encounter due to an ACL injury, while Bruno Rodrigues is unlikely to feature after undergoing knee surgery.
Anibal Moreno could be a few weeks away from returning from his eye injury, while Mayke, Jose Manuel Lopez and Endrick are eligible to play despite each accumulating an excessive number of yellow cards domestically.
Rony put Palestra on the board in the 57th minute of their opening match with Botafogo SP, with Estevao putting home the winner in the dying moments.
Botafogo SP possible starting lineup:
Michael; M. Costa, Dias, Schappo; Wallison, Bochecha, Barbosa, Brey; Robinho; Sandro, Pereira
Palmeiras possible starting lineup:
Lomba; Mayke, Luan, Murilo, Piquerez; Fabinho, Moreno; Estevao, Veiga, Lazaro; Rony
We say: Botafogo SP 0-3 Palmeiras (Palmeiras advances 5-1 on aggregate)
While Botafogo have kept their matches close, we find it difficult to believe they can do anything except simply fend off the balanced Palmeiras attack for a while.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
