OneFootball
Seamus Leonard·25 September 2021
OneFootball
Seamus Leonard·25 September 2021
Flamengo are making no secret of their wish to prioritise the midweek Copa Libertadores clash with Barcelona SC over Sunday’s Brasileirão date with América-MG.
The Rubro-Negro flew out to Minas Gerais on Saturday without Diego Alves, Mauricio Isla, David Luiz, Éverton Ribeiro, and Gabriel Barbosa.
Despite having a 2-0 advantage from the first leg of their Libertadores semi-final, manager Renato Gaúcho is clearly taking no chances with some of his key men ahead of the return date in Ecuador on Wednesday.
Gaúcho’s decision was almost certainly made easier by Flamengo’s current league woes.
The Mengão lie 11 points behind leaders Atlético Mineiro, albeit with two ganes in hand.
In addition to the aforementioned quintet, Filipe Luís and Giorgian de Arrascaeta have been left at home even though they are fit and available again after muscle injuries.
Given the plethora of absentees, veteran Diego is expected to start in central midfield. And Bruno Henrique, a two-goal hero from the first leg against Barcelona SC, should be tasked with leading the line alongside Pedro.