Brazil Serie A 2026 Title Race Guide

BRAZIL · FOOTBALL

Flamengo lead Palmeiras by three points in Brazil’s 2026 Série A, with ten games left. Their only remaining meeting, at Palmeiras in late November, may settle it.

The Brasileirão 2026 title race, Brazil’s Série A, is down to Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro and Palmeiras of São Paulo. Flamengo lead with 60 points to 57 after 28 of 38 games, in the table of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).

The CBF, which runs the league, has set the final round for Wednesday, 2 December, but not its kick-off times. For US fans, the leaders’ confirmed games kick off between 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Why the Title Race Matters to US Fans

Both leaders played in the United States at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which the US hosted. Flamengo beat Chelsea 3-1 there on 20 June 2025, and Palmeiras reached the quarter-finals in Philadelphia.

Flamengo lead the league’s attendance table, averaging 62,467 fans per home game at the Maracanã this season, the club says. Their biggest 2026 crowd, 71,205, watched a 3-0 home defeat by Palmeiras on Saturday, 23 May.

The run-in is also easier to follow from the US than in past seasons. Fanatiz carries league games in the US, and Flamengo streams its home games free outside Brazil.

Under the CBF’s competition rules, the top four go straight into the 2027 Copa Libertadores group stage, South America’s Champions League. Fifth place enters the Libertadores preliminary round, and the bottom four clubs drop to the second-tier Série B.

The Table and What Each Club Needs

The top six in the CBF table on Thursday morning, 8 October, are listed below. Flamengo play at Santos and Palmeiras host Bahia on Thursday night, so the gap could change before the weekend.

• Flamengo (Rio de Janeiro): 60 points from 28 games, 18 wins, goal difference +32.
• Palmeiras (São Paulo): 57 points from 28 games, 16 wins, goal difference +26.
• Athletico Paranaense (Curitiba): 49 points from 28 games.
• Cruzeiro (Belo Horizonte): 48 points from 29 games.
• Fluminense (Rio de Janeiro): 48 points from 28 games.
• Bahia (Salvador): 46 points from 28 games.

Flamengo control the race, because they also hold the first tiebreaker, total wins, by two. Goal difference comes next, and Flamengo lead that by six goals.

If Flamengo match Palmeiras result for result, they are champions. Palmeiras must gain four points on Flamengo over ten games, or gain three and then win on the tiebreakers.

Head-to-head is only the fourth tiebreaker, after wins, goal difference and goals scored, under the CBF regulations. Palmeiras won the first meeting 3-0 at the Maracanã, so that criterion favours them if it is ever reached.

Third-placed Athletico Paranaense trail Flamengo by 11 points with ten games left, so they remain mathematically alive. In practice, anyone else would need both leaders to slump badly over the final weeks.

Athletico Paranaense is a Curitiba club, while Cruzeiro comes from Belo Horizonte and Bahia from Salvador. Fluminense is Flamengo’s cross-town rival in Rio de Janeiro, and Corinthians is Palmeiras’s city rival in São Paulo.

The Decisive Fixtures and Kick-Off Times

All times below come from the CBF detailed fixture list, updated on Wednesday, 7 October. Brazil does not use daylight saving time, so Brasília is one hour ahead of New York until US clocks change.

US clocks fall back on Sunday, 1 November, after which Brasília is two hours ahead of Eastern time. The list covers both leaders’ games and their matches against other top-six clubs.

• Thursday, 8 October: Santos v Flamengo, Vila Belmiro, Santos, 7:30 p.m. Brasília (6:30 p.m. ET).
• Thursday, 8 October: Palmeiras v Bahia, Nubank Parque, São Paulo, 9:30 p.m. Brasília (8:30 p.m. ET).
• Sunday, 11 October: Flamengo v Fluminense, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 5:30 p.m. Brasília (4:30 p.m. ET).
• Sunday, 11 October: Palmeiras v Corinthians, Nubank Parque, São Paulo, 5:30 p.m. Brasília (4:30 p.m. ET).
• Saturday, 17 October: Athletico Paranaense v Palmeiras, Arena da Baixada, Curitiba, 7:30 p.m. Brasília (6:30 p.m. ET).
• Sunday, 18 October: Bahia v Flamengo, Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador, 6:30 p.m. Brasília (5:30 p.m. ET).
• Saturday, 24 October: Palmeiras v Red Bull Bragantino, Arena Barueri, Barueri, 6:30 p.m. Brasília (5:30 p.m. ET).
• Monday, 26 October: Flamengo v Atlético Mineiro, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 8 p.m. Brasília (7 p.m. ET).
• Wednesday, 28 October: Santos v Palmeiras, Vila Belmiro, Santos, 7:30 p.m. Brasília (6:30 p.m. ET).
• Thursday, 29 October: Vasco da Gama v Flamengo, venue to be confirmed, 8 p.m. Brasília (7 p.m. ET).
• Wednesday, 4 November: Flamengo v Grêmio, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, 7:30 p.m. Brasília (5:30 p.m. ET).
• Thursday, 5 November: Palmeiras v Remo, Nubank Parque, São Paulo, 7:30 p.m. Brasília (5:30 p.m. ET).
• Round 35, Wednesday, 18 or Thursday, 19 November: Flamengo v Athletico Paranaense; Cruzeiro v Palmeiras.
• Round 36, Saturday, 21 to Monday, 23 November: Palmeiras v Flamengo.
• Round 37, Saturday, 28 or Sunday, 29 November: Coritiba v Flamengo; Chapecoense v Palmeiras.
• Round 38, Wednesday, 2 December: Flamengo v Chapecoense; Palmeiras v Coritiba.

Palmeiras v Flamengo is the only remaining head-to-head, and a Palmeiras win would cut the gap by three points. Palmeiras normally host at Nubank Parque, the arena formerly called Allianz Parque, but the CBF has not named a venue.

Palmeiras face Fluminense and Flamengo face Estudiantes of Argentina in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals, starting on Wednesday, 14 and Thursday, 15 October. Conmebol, South America’s football body, has set the final for Saturday, 28 November, in Montevideo, overlapping round 37.

How to Get Tickets Legally as a Visitor

Brazilian clubs sell league tickets themselves, and members of their supporter programmes buy first. Palmeiras sells only through ingressospalmeiras.com.br, and Flamengo uses its own site, ingressos.flamengo.com.br.

For the Corinthians derby on Sunday, 11 October, Palmeiras opened sales to its Avanti members on Thursday, 1 October. The general public could buy from Saturday, 3 October, at 10 a.m. Brasília time.

Non-member prices for that derby run from BRL 190 to BRL 280 in Brazilian reais (about US$38 to US$56). The CBF sets a league-wide minimum of BRL 40 (about US$8) for a full-price ticket.

Palmeiras checks buyers’ registration data against Brazil’s federal tax authority, which issues the CPF taxpayer number. Foreigners abroad can request a free CPF at a Brazilian consulate, the government portal gov.br says.

Palmeiras uses facial recognition at all Nubank Parque gates, so the face you register works as your ticket. Flamengo also requires facial pre-registration for the Maracanã, and May ticket instructions there accepted passports from foreigners.

These rules follow Brazil’s 2023 General Sports Law, which requires biometric identification of fans at arenas holding more than 20,000 people. The same law makes selling tickets above face value a crime punishable by one to two years in prison.

Marked-up tickets from touts or resale sites are illegal and, with facial recognition, unlikely to get you through the gates. If members buy every seat, joining the club’s programme is the legal way to improve your chances.

How to Watch in the US

The league’s international rights for 2025 to 2027 belong to 1190 Sports, a Florida-based agency, for every match except Flamengo home games. In the US, the streaming service Fanatiz carries the league on its app.

Fanatiz, owned by Fz Sports, also runs Fanatiz 1, a 24-hour pay-TV channel that DirecTV’s guide lists for the Campeonato Brasileiro. Trade outlet Inside World Football reported in June that Brazil’s top flight anchors the new channel.

Flamengo kept its own international rights and streams all 19 league home games free and live outside Brazil on FlamengoTV. The club’s YouTube channel offers Portuguese or Spanish commentary, Flamengo says.

That means Flamengo v Fluminense on Sunday and four later Flamengo home games are free to US viewers. Palmeiras v Flamengo is a Palmeiras home game, so it falls under the 1190 Sports package.

Getting There

Most visitors will fly into Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo, which host most of the leaders’ remaining home games. Check the CBF list before booking, because Palmeiras also plays some home games at Arena Barueri.

The Maracanã is served by Maracanã and São Cristóvão stations on Rio’s Metro Line 2. MetrôRio, the operator, called Line 2 the best option for a Flamengo match in August and added station staff.

Nubank Parque sits on Avenida Francisco Matarazzo in the west of São Paulo. On big match days, the city runs special bus services linking the area with metro stations including Barra Funda.

Santos, where Flamengo play on Thursday and Palmeiras on 28 October, is a port city on the coast of São Paulo state. Arena Barueri, used by Palmeiras on 24 October, lies in Barueri, a suburb west of São Paulo.

Safety and Costs for Visitors

The US State Department rates Brazil Level 2 of 4, “exercise increased caution,” citing crime and kidnapping. It tells Americans not to enter favelas, informal neighbourhoods, even on guided tours.

The department warns that assaults using sedatives and drugs placed in drinks are common, especially in Rio de Janeiro. It also advises US government staff against municipal buses because of robbery risk, particularly at night.

US citizens need a visa to enter Brazil, whatever the purpose of travel, the State Department says. Brazil’s consulates offer an electronic visitor visa, so apply well before you travel.

Inside Nubank Parque, food and drink are sold only with a prepaid stadium card, which costs BRL 7 (about US$1.40) to activate. Palmeiras says the fee can be refunded when you hand the card back.

Conversions in this guide use 5.00 reais per US dollar, the market rate published by ExchangeRate-API on 8 October. Palmeiras published derby prices in its sale notice 11 days before kick-off.

What It Means for You

If you want to see a title-deciding game, Palmeiras v Flamengo in round 36 is the one to target. Book flexible travel from Saturday, 21 to Monday, 23 November, because the CBF has not fixed the day.

Sort out the club registration, and a CPF if needed, well before tickets go on sale. Palmeiras opened sales for the Corinthians derby ten days before kick-off.

At home, Flamengo’s remaining home games cost nothing on FlamengoTV, while other matches need Fanatiz. The time gap with New York grows from one to two hours on Sunday, 1 November.

What Prediction Markets Say

On Polymarket, bets priced Flamengo’s title chance at 69% and Palmeiras’s at about 29% on Thursday morning. The prices were taken at 8:09 a.m. ET on 8 October, and no other club was above 1%.

The market has drawn about US$46,800 in trading volume since April, but only about US$70 changed hands in the past 24 hours. Palmeiras’s price rose about three and a half points over the past week.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What Is Not Known

The CBF has not set days, kick-off times or venues for rounds 35 to 38, so the decider’s exact date is open. The venue for Vasco da Gama v Flamengo on Thursday, 29 October, is also still to be confirmed.

Ticket dates and prices for Palmeiras v Flamengo have not been announced. Palmeiras’s ticket notice does not say how foreigners without a CPF can register.

It is unclear whether the Creator Sports Network still streams a weekly match on YouTube and Twitch, as announced in 2025. Fanatiz’s current US subscription price was not confirmed by the company.

Palmeiras or Fluminense will reach the 28 November Libertadores final, and Flamengo may too, so round 37 could move. Polymarket prices are bets, not polls, and can move quickly after each result.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the 2026 Brasileirão end?

The final round, round 38, is set for Wednesday, 2 December, according to the CBF fixture list. Kick-off times for rounds 35 to 38 have not been published yet.

Who is favoured to win Brazil’s Série A title?

Flamengo lead Palmeiras by three points with ten games left and also hold the first tiebreaker, total wins. Polymarket bets gave Flamengo a 69% chance on 8 October.

How can a foreign visitor buy tickets legally?

Buy only on the clubs’ own sites, ingressospalmeiras.com.br for Palmeiras and ingressos.flamengo.com.br for Flamengo, after member presales. Entry is by facial recognition, and reselling tickets above face value is a crime in Brazil.

How can I watch the Brasileirão in the US?

Fanatiz carries league matches in the US on its app and its Fanatiz 1 pay-TV channel. Flamengo streams its home games free outside Brazil on its FlamengoTV YouTube channel.

Sources: CBF, Série A 2026 table; CBF, detailed fixture list, updated 7 October 2026; CBF, Série A 2026 competition regulations; ge (Globo), Série A table and fixtures; Gazeta Esportiva; Palmeiras, Corinthians derby ticket notice; Flamengo, FlamengoTV international streams; Flamengo, 2026 attendance; Flamengo, Libertadores semi-final ticket and biometric notice; Grêmio, ticket notice naming Flamengo’s ticket site; NETVASCO, Maracanã biometric registration; Brazil, General Sports Law (Law 14,597/2023); gov.br, CPF registration abroad; 90min Brasil, international rights; Inside World Football, Fanatiz 1; DirecTV guide, Campeonato Brasileiro; Sportcal, Creator Sports Network deal; Conmebol, Libertadores final; Diário do Transporte, MetrôRio match operation; Diário do Transporte, Nubank Parque buses; US State Department, Brazil travel advisory; US State Department, Brazil country information; Chelsea FC, Club World Cup in Philadelphia (all accessed 8 October 2026).