Flamengo and Independiente Medellín meet Thursday at 21h30 de Brasília at the Maracanã in a Group A game that can stretch one team’s early lead and deepen the other’s problems. The match is the second round of the Conmebol Libertadores group stage, with ge set to follow it in real time and and Disney+ carrying the broadcast.
Flamengo arrives with momentum. It won its Libertadores debut in Cusco and has three consecutive wins, over Santos, Cusco FC and Fluminense, while sitting second in the Brazilian Championship. The squad also got encouraging news in training: Saúl and Cebolinha returned to partial work with the group last week and are available to be listed, and Léo Ortiz trained normally after feeling discomfort in the classic. Jorginho, though, will miss another match because of a muscle injury in his left calf, and Pulgar is also out with an injury to the acromioclavicular joint in his right shoulder.
Independiente Medellín came to Rio in the early hours of Wednesday and trained in the afternoon at Forte da Urca to finish its preparation. The Colombian side drew with Estudiantes in its Libertadores debut at home, has gone three straight matches without a win and lost to Atlético Nacional in its last appearance in the Colombian Apertura. It is 14th in the Colombian league. Goalkeeper Ichazo and right-back Leyser Chaverra are back after recovering from physical problems, and Didier Moreno is the only absence because of a knee ligament injury.
There is little mystery about how the group has opened up. Estudiantes leads Group A with one draw and one win, while Flamengo and Independiente Medellín are trying to keep pace alongside Cusco of Peru and the Argentine club. That leaves Thursday’s match with real weight for both sides, especially for Medellín, which needs a result to avoid falling behind early.
Gonzalez framed the task bluntly, saying it would be a “surpresa muito grande se o Flamengo se enrolar.” That is the edge in this matchup: Flamengo has the form, the home crowd and the cleaner injury picture, while Medellín arrives having already shown enough to make the trip worthwhile but not enough yet to suggest it can absorb another setback. The probable lineups underline the shape of the contest, with Flamengo expected to start Rossi, Varela, Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira, Alex Sandro, Evertton Araújo, Paquetá, Arrascaeta, Plata, Samuel Lino and Pedro, and Medellín likely to answer with Ichazo, Leyser Chaverra, Londoño, José Ortíz, Fabra, Esneyder Mena, Perlaza, Alexis Serna, Montano, Francisco Chaverra and Fydriszewski.