Neymar is in Santos' probable starting XI for santos - bragantino on Sunday at 18:30 at Vila Belmiro, where Cuca’s side needs a response after seven games without a win. The match is the 15th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro, and Santos enters on 15 points while Red Bull Bragantino arrives on 20.
Vila Belmiro and Neymar
Santos is set to line up with Diógenes, Igor Vinícius, Lucas Veríssimo, João Ananias, Escobar, João Schmidt, Christian Oliva, Gabriel Bontempo, Rollheiser, Neymar and Gabigol. The attack gives Cuca two high-profile names, with Neymar carrying the main weight of the headline and Gabigol listed among the starters rather than on the bench.
Gabriel Brazão will miss out after his third yellow card. Thaciano is out with a muscle injury in his right thigh, while Gabriel Menino and Lautaro Díaz remain in physical transition and will not play. Gustavo Henrique is being treated for an injury to the adductor muscle of his left thigh, and Mayke is recovering from a viral illness.
Bragantino’s Good Run
Bragantino brings a sharper recent record into the match. It beat Blooming-BOL 6-0 in the Sul-Americana on Thursday, August 7, then followed with a 2-1 win over Chapecoense in the last Brasileirão round.
That run leaves Vagner Mancini’s side on 20 points and in stronger shape than Santos, which is trying to stop a slide that has left it close to the relegation zone. Juninho Capixaba is expected back at left-back after serving a suspension, and Bragantino’s probable lineup includes Volpi, Andres Hurtado, Alix Vinicius, Gustavo Marques or Pedro Henrique, Juninho Capixaba, Gabriel, Ramires, Herrera, Lucas Barbosa, Sasha and Isidro Pitta.
Referee Alex Gomes Stefano
The match will be broadcast live on Premiere, with ge following the action in real time. Alex Gomes Stefano of Rio de Janeiro will referee a game that already carries different pressures for each side: Santos needs points to steady a season built around 15, while Bragantino can keep pushing after a 6-0 continental win and a league victory that took it to 20.
Bragantino also has Davi Gomes, Fabricio, Ryan, Matheus Fernandes, Eduardo and Fabinho in its medical department, with Agustin Sant'Anna and Guzmán Rodríguez in physical transition. For Santos, the urgency is immediate at Vila Belmiro, where Neymar’s return to a probable starting role gives Cuca a chance to lean on his most recognizable names in a match that can reshape both clubs’ momentum.
