Flamengo vs São Paulo Prediction: Cariocas and Paulistas meet at the Maracanã

Flamengo and São Paulo will go to this match under pressure to get a good result. The Cariocas beat Atlético in Goiânia, but the performance was disappointing, with unattractive football, which is unforgivable for Flamengo fans. The Paulistas lost at home to Fortaleza, and coach Thiago Carpini is already in danger of being sacked.

When the referee blew for half-time with Flamengo leading and with one more player on the pitch, nobody would have expected Atlético Goianiense to cause the Cariocas so many difficulties in the second half. The Dragon made it 1-1 in the 63rd minute, and it was only through a penalty kick in the 13th minute of added time that Pedro scored the winning goal. Despite the win, the fans were unhappy with the performance against a team promoted from the Série B. Tite's team now has the opportunity at home to demonstrate that it is a contender for the title.

São Paulo's debut in the Brasileirão came as no surprise, at least here at Telecom Asia, as the team showed signs of weakness in recent games. Fortaleza repeated last year's victory at the Morumbi and put Thiago Carpini's job at risk. If the team loses again, there could be changes at the helm of the Paulistas, given how football works in Brazil. The Tricolor Paulista started the season well with a victory in the Supercopa do Brasil against Palmeiras, but elimination in the quarter-finals of the Paulistão with Série B side Novorizontino took confidence out of the players.

Flamengo is currently superior to São Paulo. The Scarlet-Black didn't have a good game against Atlético Goianiense, that's true, but it won. If the Cariocas want to be champions, they'll have to win more matches on days like this one in Goiânia when things don't go well. It would be a surprise if São Paulo could pick up a point at the Maracanã, but as a big club, it can always play for pride and perform above expectations. My bet, however, is on Flamengo winning with a maximum of five goals scored in the game.