Photo: Ettore Chiereguini/AGIFWritten by Thiago Braga• Published on 17/10/2024 – 12:05 • São Paulo (SP)
Corinthians takes the field this Thursday, at 8pm (Brasília time), at the Neo Química Arena, to face Athletico-PR, in a decisive clash for the 30th round of the Brazilian Championship. For the match, coach Ramón Díaz is betting on the attacking duo formed by Memphis Depay and Yuri Alberto, looking for a fundamental victory in the fight against relegation.
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Memphis, who is still in the process of developing physically, will start for the second consecutive time. The Argentine coach hopes that the duo will have a performance close to what happened in the draw with Internacional, when Memphis provided an assist for Yuri Alberto, scorer of the two goals in the 2-2. On that occasion, in addition to the pass to the goal, what remained was the rapport that the Dutchman demonstrated with Yuri Alberto.
– Memphis has this characteristic of floating more, of combining more passes inside, of sustaining a lot, he is a guy with a lot of strength. I think we need to explore this a lot, the combinations: he holds it and I do the machete, or I hold it and he does the machete too. At one point he was on the wing and I was the center forward, so we switched. We have created a very good rapport and he is a guy who will help us a lot even with this experience he has – praised Yuri Alberto, after the game with Internacional.
As Memphis will not be able to play in the decisive duel against Flamengo, on Sunday, for the Copa do Brasil, as he is not registered in the tournament, he should be chosen by Ramón Díaz for the attack in tonight’s match. Thus, Romero should take over the starting spot in the Copa do Brasil semi-final clash.
The match against Athletico-PR is treated as one of the “finals” that Corinthians faces in this final stretch of the championship. With 29 points and occupying 18th place, Timão needs to win to overtake Athletico itself, who has 31 points and is in 15th place. Victory would also put more pressure on direct rivals in the fight against relegation to Series B.
Corinthians will have the return of important players such as Fagner, Romero and André Ramalho, who were suspended in the draw with Internacional. Furthermore, midfielder Alex Santana and striker Talles Magno are available again, eliminating the injury problems in Díaz’s squad.
– It was an important week, with a lot of work. We know the importance of this Thursday’s game. Every game in the Brasileirão is a grand final. Thank God we had a good week of preparation. I’m very confident and motivated for the match. Of course, in the last game we could have come away with a big victory. The group is very motivated to play a great match and emerge victorious – said Timão’s number 9 to the club’s official website.
With the squad complete, Díaz seeks to adjust the ideal team to not only avoid the danger of relegation in the Brasileirão, but also continue advancing in the cups. Tonight’s duel is considered key to getting back on track to winning ways and gaining confidence for the rest of the season, which includes the decisive clash against Flamengo next Sunday.
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