Palmeiras vs Santos Prediction: The Copa Libertadores is over, but the Brasileirão is still open for Palmeiras

In the always dramatic penalty shootout, Boca Juniors qualified for the Copa Libertadores final, leaving Palmeiras by the wayside. It was the fourth consecutive semi-final for Abel Ferreira's team, who won the competition in 2020 and 2021. Winning the most important South American competition again was a declared ambition for Palmeiras, which is now limited to the domestic championship. The Verdão must recover from this blow and react immediately against Santos. The match will take place in Barueri, a city 30 km from São Paulo, due to The Weeknd's concert at the Allianz Parque. The Clássico da Saudade is one of the four classics in Round 26, but perhaps the one in which the difference in quality between the sides is most pronounced.

The Verdão went through a dark spell between June and July, with five winless matches in the Série A and the elimination from the Copa do Brasil. The team is again going through a negative period with four games without a win, with consequences for its season. After losing its last two Brasileirão fixtures, precisely to the teams that overtook it, RB Bragantino and Grêmio, Palmeiras now finds itself in fourth place. In the other two matches, the two draws with Boca Juniors were not enough to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores due to missed penalties by Raphael Veiga and Gustavo Gómez in the tie-breaker. As Botafogo has also been dropping many points, the two defeats in the league haven't been too penalizing, so the gap to the top is now eight points. Without the Copa Libertadores, the Verdão can now focus on the Brasileirão as the main target.

The Fish picked up two crucial wins against Bahia and Vasco da Gama, two sides involved in the relegation battle. Santos has climbed to 15th place and is finally out of the Z4. The Clássico da Saudade could boost the team's confidence if the result is positive. The Verdão's fatigue and the borrowed stadium give the Fish some hope for this clash, although a win against Palmeiras has been elusive since 2018. However, Santos also has some problems; Dodô, Soteldo, and Lucas Lima, three first-team players, are suspended due to the disorder that arose in the match against Vasco da Gama.

Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira will demand a reaction from his players in this classic. There are still 13 rounds left in the Brasileirão, so the title is still possible. Santos is in good form, but in addition to the game's difficulty, three regulars in the starting eleven won't be able to play. My bet is for Palmeiras to win, with both teams scoring a minimum of two goals in total.