With the arrival of the month of April, the state football championships spread across the country are coming to an end and the beginning of the Brasileirão da Série A is approaching. This year, the competition will start on April 15th and promises to be one of the most last years. After all, giants like Cruzeiro, Vasco, Grêmio and Bahia will be back in the main division of national football. But, who will be the favorites to be at the top of the table this year?
Current Brazilian champion Palmeiras should remain strong in the dispute for the Brazilian title. Having kept Abel Ferreira in charge of the team, expectations remain high. The Portuguese already appears in the gallery of the most winning coaches in the history of alviverde and, at least in the first months of the year, he has shown signs that he intends to continue fighting at the top. The first challenge of the year was in Super Cup against Flamengo and the team passed the test. He won the title by defeating the current champion of Libertadores in an exciting game won by 4 to 3. In the state championship of São Paulo, Palmeiras also continues to fly and is currently the only so-called big one alive in the dispute for the title of the competition.
Although starting the year off on the wrong foot, Flamengo continues to be named among the favorites by the biggest betting sites listed in bettingtop10.com.br. With the most valuable squad in the country, the loss of all the titles played in the year so far was not enough to remove the Rio de Janeiro team from the hall of favorites.
Flamengo started the year losing the Brazilian Super Cup to Palmeiras. In the sequence, he was eliminated in the semifinals of the Club World Cup for Al-Hilal. To make matters even worse in Gávea, he was also beaten in the Recopa Sul-americana by Independiente Del Valle. To assuage the fans’ frustration a little, the team managed to reach the final of the state championship in Rio de Janeiro, which will be played in two games against Fluminense. Although the Portuguese coach has been rocking in office, winning the championship in Rio could give Flamengo the necessary breath to rise again and fight for the Brazilian title again.
In addition to the traditional duo Flamengo and Palmeiras, other teams promise to spare no efforts to fight at the top of the Serie A table this year. The main ones are Corinthians, Internacional, Fluminense, Atlético Mineiro and Athletico Paranaense.
Who shouldn’t expect much this year is probably Vasco, Botafogo and Bahia. Although they joined the SAF model and experience a much better financial moment than in other years, the year for them should be one of affirmation and consolidation in Serie A. A Brazilian championship without fears, without fighting relegation throughout the year, should be more than enough these teams so that next year they can make greater investments and seek more ambitious flights.
And for you, who are the favorites to fight at the top of the Brasileirão table in 2023?
