Vasco and Boavista face off on the night of this Thursday, January 18, 2024, starting at 7:30 pm, in a game valid for the 1st round of the Guanabara Cup. The match will be played at the São Januário stadium, in Rio de Janeiro.
Vasco da Gama
Vasco’s team struggled in the previous season and barely avoided another relegation to the second national division, managing to escape relegation only in the last round, with the right to a saving goal only in the final stretch of the match against Red Bull Bragantino.
However, the fact of having guaranteed its permanence in the national elite served to alleviate the club’s situation a little more, which hopes to perform better in 2024.
However, their priority at the moment is not the state championship, considering that coach Ramon Díaz and his main players from the professional squad traveled to Punta del Este, in Uruguay, to participate in the Rio de La Plata Series, in preparation for the new season.
Therefore, the Cruzmaltino team should debut in the state with a mix of reserve players and athletes from the under-20 category who were recently eliminated in Copinha and reinforce the team’s professional squad.
Only 1 victory, 2 draws and 2 defeats were recorded in the last 5 official matches of the season, beating Red Bull Bragantino, drawing with Cruzeiro and Athletico-PR, in addition to losing to Grêmio and also to Corinthians.
In the last 10 times that the Vasco team entered the field as home team, at the São Januário stadium, they recorded 7 wins, 1 draw and only 2 defeats.
Boavista
Boavista, on the other hand, last entered the field when they faced Serrano FC in the round of 16 of the Copa Rio in September last year and suffered two defeats by the same score of 1-0, culminating in their early elimination of the tournament.
Before that, Saquarema’s team had already disappointed with a terrible campaign in the state elite, remaining at the bottom of the championship for several rounds, until managing to score four points in the last two games to escape a relegation that seemed so likely.
In the last 5 games played officially by the Alviverde team, only 1 victory, 1 draw and 3 defeats were recorded, beating Nova Iguaçu and drawing with Volta Redonda, in addition to losing to Vasco and also to Serrano FC twice.
Acting as a visitor, the Boavista team recorded a recent campaign with just 1 win, 1 draw and 8 defeats in the last 10 matches played.
Conclusion:
Thus, despite Boavista not being part of the select group of clubs that are used to entering Cariocão highly rated to go far in the tournament, as is the case with Vasco itself due to all its tradition, the expectation is that in this opening round the Saquarema team will be able to offer resistance to the Vasco fans, who will enter the field without their main players and even without their coach, since they all traveled to Uruguay.