Flamengo vs Grêmio Prediction: The Brasileirão leader faces a tricky opponent

The South American national teams are already preparing for the Copa América, but the Brasileirão will continue. Nine clubs have asked the CBF to stop the Série A during the continental competition but with no success. Flamengo is the Brazilian club that has given the most players to the various national teams and was one of those that had its request turned down. It's always tricky to play against Grêmio because the Gaúchos are very combative, but at the moment, without five players, Flamengo could find it even more difficult.

The Cariocas lead the Brasileirão with the same 14 points as Bahia but with a better goal average. June will be a terrible month for all the teams, with eight rounds to play. Flamengo will play without several key players. Arrascaeta, De la Cruz, Varela, and Viña joined the Uruguay national team, and Pulgar is with the Chile national team. Tite will likely constantly rotate his squad due to the high number of games, short recovery time, and a smaller squad. More than 50,000 fans will support the Scarlet-Black against Grêmio. The Cariocas must win to keep the first place.

The Tricolor also lost players who will be taking part in the Copa América. Soteldo has been selected for Venezuela, while Villasanti will represent Paraguay. These two players, regularly used by Renato Portaluppi in his starting line-up, will not be able to help the club for some time. Grêmio is in 13th place with six points but has two games in hand. The Porto Alegre side qualified for the Copa Libertadores next stage after recovering from a poor start and will now be looking to move up in the Série A table. The game at the Maracanã won't be easy, but the Gaúchos will fight until the end for a good result.

It's impossible to know yet what impact the absences of the five Flamengo players who went to the Copa America will have. The team's midfield will inevitably change, and probably for the worse. Even so, Flamengo is the favorite of the bookmakers. I'm betting on a low-scoring game. Grêmio has not conceded many goals, and Flamengo may lose some creativity without Arrascaeta and De la Cruz. The bet could be enough for a Flamengo victory by a narrow margin and also for a possible surprise.