Santos face three familiar faces against Fluminense, check it out | OneFootball

In search of rehabilitation in the Brazilian Championship, Santos faces another important commitment. On Sunday afternoon, Santos hosts Fluminense, starting at 4pm (Brasília time), at Vila Belmiro, for the 22nd round of the national competition.

In this weekend's duel, Santos will meet three familiar faces who now defend Fluminense: Yeferson Soteldo, Paulo Henrique Ganso, and Gustavo Nonato. The first two are permanently signed, while the latter is on loan from Santos.

Soteldo in hot water

Soteldo was one of the reinforcements signed by Fluminense for the Club World Cup. He was sold by Santos in June of this season. The Santos board initially tried to hinder the deal, but later agreed to negotiate the Venezuelan.

However, Soteldo was not very useful for Fluminense in the Club World Cup. The forward had a grade 2 muscle injury in his thigh and only recovered towards the end of the competition. He was on the bench against Al-Hilal and Inter Milan, and only got minutes against Chelsea in the semifinal.

Soteldo's stint at Fluminense, so far, has been highly questioned by the fans. The Venezuelan has not been able to establish himself in the starting lineup and has not participated in any goal for the team. The player has played eight matches with the Tricolor Carioca's jersey.

Thus, Soteldo tries to give a response to Fluminense's fans in the clash against Santos. Santos, on the other hand, fears the 'ex-law', but believes in a good debut from Vojvoda to beat the Carioca rival and, perhaps, start a reaction in the Brasileirão.

Nonato is not expected to play

Another old acquaintance of Santos who is currently at Fluminense is Gustavo Nonato. The midfielder is in a situation opposite to that of Soteldo and is having a good moment. Despite this, the midfielder should be out of the clash due to a contract clause.

The defensive midfielder will not likely be related precisely because he is on loan to Fluminense from Santos. He, who had his loan renewed until the end of this year, will be absent due to the agreement made between the clubs when signing the new contract.

Nonato was a starter for Fluminense in the Club World Cup and had important performances in the campaign. However, the player did not maintain the level and began to oscillate between reserves and starters. Last Thursday, for example, he was in Renato Gaúcho's starting 11 to face Bahia, for the Copa do Brasil.

For Fluminense, Nonato has three goals and four assists in 46 matches.

Ganso meets Neymar and Santos again

Finally, the duel between Santos and Fluminense will promote a new reunion of old friends. Now at Santos, Neymar will come across Paulo Henrique Ganso again. Both will face each other for the fourth time in their careers.

Before this Sunday's match, Neymar and Ganso faced each other in a Santos x São Paulo, in 2013; in a Barcelona x Sevilla, in 2016; and most recently, in the last Fluminense x Santos, in 2025. The number 10 of Santos has an advantage of 2 to 1 in the confrontations.

Neymar and Ganso made history together at Santos between 2009 and 2012. With the two stars formed at the base, the Alvinegro Praiano had one of its best recent phases and won a Libertadores, a Copa do Brasil, three Paulistas and a Recopa Sul-Americana. The two also shared a locker room in the Brazilian team.

Ganso has been at Fluminense since 2019. In all, the midfielder has played 287 matches, with 27 goals scored and 35 assists distributed.

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This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.