The Maracanã will open its doors for the first leg of the Copa do Brasil quarter-finals between Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense this Wednesday with both sides separated by five points in the Brazilian Serie A.
Flamengo are currently sitting third in the Serie A after winning eight of their 13 games so far. This leaves them adrift of Botafogo at the top of the table by eight points with only four losses on the board and one draw.
pic.twitter.com/LmYGRLYwjN— Flamengo (@Flamengo) July 3, 2023
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What's more, the club have scored the most goals so far in the league with 26 going in and with 17 conceded.
Flamengo has won six of its last seven games after defeating Flamengo in the Copa do Brasil round of 16 second leg.
Following on from a 0-0 draw in the first leg, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Gabriel Barbosa scored a goal each to hand them a 2-0 win.
A 4-1 win over Vasco da Gama would come soon after in the league before a 2-1 victory over Racing Club in the Copa Libertadores.
As a result of also beating Aucas 4-0 in that competition, Flamengo are sitting with two points of Racing Club after all six games of Group A and the club will also compete in the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores as a result.
Elsewhere Jorge Sampaoli's men have gone on to beat Gremio 3-0 and Santos 3-1 before a win over Fortaleza last weekend.
His side’s only loss in the last few weeks was in a 4-0 defeat against RB Bragantino which no doubt goes down as the worst result of the season so far for the former Sevilla manager.
As for Athletico-PR, they head into this game down in ninth and five points behind Flamengo in third place with six victories on the board and five losses too.
They have, however, let in the same amount of goals as the third-placed side (17) but come into this one with eight goals fewer scored of their own.
Athletico-PR drew 2-2 with Palmeiras last weekend, as Vitor Bueno scored a penalty before an equaliser from Vitor Roque in a comeback draw.
The club also had an impressive 27 shots that day but only hit the target five times at home.
They managed to beat the Serie A leaders Botafogo on penalties in the round of 16 after a 3-3 draw on aggregate across two legs. Forebet now predicts a win for Flamengo and for the game to see under 2.5 goals.