The Clásico dos Milhões this Sunday (6) may no longer be worth the title of the Guanabara Cup (first phase of the Carioca Championship), guaranteed by Fluminense on Saturday (5), with a 4-0 victory over Resende, but it is still important in the claims of Flamengo and Vasco in the State. Separated by a point, the rivals face each other with an eye on the advantage of the tie in the aggregate score of the semifinals. The ball rolls at the Nilton Santos stadium, at 16:00 (Brasília time), with a live broadcast from National Radio.
Flamengo appears in the vice-leadership of the competition, with 20 points, followed precisely by Vasco, with 19 points. At this moment, the two teams would be facing each other in the semifinal, with a red-black advantage. A Flamengo victory assures the second place to the Gávea team. The Hill Giant needs to win to overtake the rival one round from the end of the first phase.
?⚽️ Preparation for the classic completed!
? The Most Beloved held the last training session before the match against Vasco this morning. Let’s look for another victory in the @Cariocao! #VamosFlamengo
?: Paula Reis/CRF pic.twitter.com/C6CIVTtZHN
— Flamengo (@Flamengo) March 5, 2022
The teams haven’t faced each other in 11 months. The last meeting was on April 15 of last year, also with Carioca. On the occasion, Cruzmaltino won 3-1, with goals from the side Léo Matos and the forwards Germán Cano (currently at Fluminense) and Morato (currently at Avaí). Striker Vitinho scored for Rubro-Negro.
Coach Paulo Sousa has almost the entire Flamengo squad at his disposal, with the exceptions of defender Rodrigo Caio (injury to his right knee) and side Mauricio Isla (removed due to indiscipline). Midfielder Thiago Maia, who hasn’t played since February 10th, due to a deep cut on his leg, can return to the bench. The trend is for the coach to repeat the formation that faced Atlético-MG in the final of the Supercopa do Brasil.
The probable Rubro-Negro this Sunday will have: Hugo; Fabricio Bruno, David Luiz and Filipe Luís; Rodinei, Willian Arão, João Gomes and Everton Ribeiro; Bruno Henrique and Giorgian de Arrascaeta; Gabriel Barbosa.
On the Basque side, midfielder Matheus Barbosa (suspended) lacks the team led by Zé Ricardo. Zé Gabriel should be the substitute. The coach, however, will have the return of Léo Matos, who did not participate in the victory over Ferroviária last Wednesday (2), in Araraquara (SP), for the Copa do Brasil, for serving a suspension. Midfielder Vitinho (who hasn’t debuted yet) and midfielder Yuri Lara (who made just two games) are recovering from injury and are options, but they should start the match on the bench.
Anderson Conceição evaluates start and designs Classic of the Millions
?: Rafael Ribeiro | #Vasco da Gama pic.twitter.com/AO5z6oiZfw
— Vasco da Gama (@VascodaGama) March 4, 2022
Cruzmaltino should line up in the classic with: Thiago Rodrigues; Weverton, Quintero, Anderson Conceição and Edimar; Ze Gabriel and Juninho; Bruno Nazário, Nenê and Gabriel Pec; Raniel.
