Botafogo hosts Palmeiras on Wednesday night (14), in the first duel of the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores. Both are experiencing similar moments: they were recently eliminated from the Copa do Brasil and are still in the hunt for the Campeonato Brasileiro. The match at the Nilton Santos Stadium, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), will be broadcast on Radio National, narrated by Rodrigo Campos, commentaries by Rodrigo Ricardo, reporting by Bruno Mendes and on-call with Luíz Ferreira.
From soul and heart for #EternalGlory! THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE OCTAVES OF #LIBERTADORES! TODAY IS WITH THE PALMEIRAS CARIOCA FAMILY ONCE AGAIN! 𝐇𝐎𝐉𝐄 𝐄́ 𝐃𝐈𝐀 𝐃𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐒! 💚🤍#AvantiLecture #BOTxPAL#SoulAndHeart pic.twitter.com/qLa817Y3xT
— SE Palmeiras (@Palmeiras) August 14, 2024
The home team’s journey in the Libertadores began in February, when they beat Aurora (Bolivia) in the preliminary phase of the competition and, subsequently, Red Bull Bragantino. Qualified for the main phase, the Alvinegro from Rio fell into group D, and ended the group phase in second place (10 points).
Glorioso has the top scorer in the Libertadores, Júnior Santos, with nine goals. The striker, however, suffered a tibia injury and should only return to the team at the end of October. Recovered from a knee injury, Tiquinho Soares could return to the squad tonight, after three games. Coach Artur Jorge will also have Angolan defender Jonh Bastos at his disposal, who was rested against Juventude. Also back in the team is striker Luiz Henrique, who did not serve a suspension on Sunday (11) against the team from Rio Grande do Sul.
“These are the conditions that exist. We want to compete well in all competitions, even if, at times, this may, in a certain way, justify a lack of performance, but here it is not about finding excuses, but solutions”, the coach pointed out during a press conference.
Palmeiras reached the round of 16 after finishing the group stage as group F leaders, with 14 points. Tonight, Verdão should have Estevão back. With a sprained ankle, the young striker was out of the team for two weeks. Defensive midfielder Zé Rafael is another player with a chance of being selected by coach Abel Ferreira, who is not holding back on criticizing the Brazilian football calendar.
“I’ll give you an example, we’re halfway through the year and Aníbal Moreno has already played more games than he did in the entire last season in Argentina,” compared the coach.
