Santos and Coritiba meet on Wednesday at 19:30 at Vila Belmiro in the first leg of the fifth phase of the Copa do Brasil, with both sides carrying different kinds of pressure into the knockout tie. The match will be followed in real time by ge.
Santos arrives after two home setbacks that have tested the team’s balance. It drew with Recoleta’s reserves from Paraguay in the Copa Sul-Americana and then lost 2-1 to Fluminense in the Campeonato Brasileiro after leading, a run that made Cuca’s return to the bench and Escobar’s return as a starter immediately relevant. Diógenes is expected to replace Gabriel Brazão, who was released after his father’s death, while Moisés could lose his place after poor performances against Recoleta and Fluminense.
The probable Santos lineup points to Diógenes; Igor Vinícius, Lucas Veríssimo, Luan Peres and Escobar; Willian Arão, Gustavo Henrique and Gabriel Bontempo; and Barreal or Moisés, Neymar and Gabigol. Vinícius Lira, Gabriel Menino, Rony and Brazão are out. For Santos, the tie is a chance to steady itself quickly in a cup competition that offers a cleaner path to momentum than recent league and continental results.
Coritiba comes in with a different mood. It is unbeaten in its last four games, beat Atlético-MG 2-0 on Sunday at Couto Pereira and has 19 points in Série A, leaving it close to the G-5. Its last defeat came one month earlier, 2-0 to Athletico at Arena da Baixada, and its recent run offers a sharper backdrop than the one that greeted its earlier Copa do Brasil exits in 2024 against Águia de Marabá and in 2025 against Ceilândia.
Coritiba’s probable lineup includes Pedro Rangel; Tinga, Maicon, Jacy and Felipe Jonatan or Bruno Melo; Vini Paulista or Wallisson and Sebastián Gómez; Josué, Lucas Ronier and Breno Lopes or Lavega; and Pedro Rocha. Keno, Pedro Morisco, Rodrigo Rodrigues and JP Chermont will miss the match. Bruno Arleu de Araújo is the referee, with Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Corrêa and Luiz Claudio Regazone as assistants, Gustavo Holanda Souza as fourth official and Marco Aurélio Augusto Fazekas Ferreira on VAR. For both clubs, Wednesday’s first leg is less about final answers than about setting the terms for the return meeting.
