Brasileirão 2026: Palmeiras run clear as Flamengo chase from behind

While Europe spent July arguing about the World Cup, Brazil never stopped playing. The 2026 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A — the 70th edition — began on 28 January and does not finish until 2 December, a marathon of twenty clubs and thirty-eight rounds that runs almost the entire calendar year. It is the biggest league in the Americas, one of the most watched anywhere outside Europe, and unlike almost every other major competition it is in full flow right now.

At the top, Palmeiras have been close to relentless. Around the midway point of the season they had lost just once in eighteen matches, banking forty-one points with a goal difference that no one else has matched. Behind them sit Flamengo, the reigning champions, on thirty-four from a game fewer — a gap that looks comfortable in July and can vanish in a fortnight in a league this long. Fluminense, Athletico Paranaense and Red Bull Bragantino make up the chasing pack, and the fight for the Libertadores places behind them is tighter still, with Bahia, Coritiba, São Paulo, Atlético Mineiro and Corinthians separated by a couple of results.

Flamengo's season tells you how strange Brazilian football can be. They arrived as champions of 2025, their eighth national title, changed head coach in March when Leonardo Jardim replaced Filipe Luís, and have still scored more league goals than the leaders. Pedro has led their line with ten in the league, and when Palmeiras visited the Maracanã in May, 71,205 people came through the turnstiles — a figure most European clubs cannot dream of for a domestic fixture. Palmeiras, meanwhile, are the country's record champions, and this is exactly the kind of season that adds to that collection.

The football itself has been open. Across the campaign so far the league has averaged well over two and a half goals a game, and the scorelines back it up: Botafogo beat Cruzeiro 4-0 on the opening weekend, Palmeiras put five past Vitória in February, Grêmio and Botafogo shared eight goals in a single afternoon, and Flamengo won 4-0 away at Atlético Mineiro in April. Colombian forward Kevin Viveros leads the scoring charts. Four promoted clubs — Coritiba, Athletico Paranaense, Chapecoense and Remo — arrived from Série B to replace Ceará, Fortaleza, Juventude and Sport, and the relegation fight at the other end is every bit as brutal as the title race.

For anyone watching from outside Brazil, the practical appeal is simple: while Europe is between seasons, the Brasileirão is at its most intense, and so is the Argentine Primera División alongside it. Kick-offs land in European evenings and late nights, the standard is high, and the unpredictability is genuine — a league where the champions can lose 4-0 at home and the leaders can drop points against a newly promoted side. You will find the current fixtures from both leagues, refreshed automatically, on our live fixtures and odds page under the South America tab.

A word of realism, though, because it matters more in a league like this. The Brasileirão's length is exactly what makes it hard to read: thirty-eight rounds, congested midweek schedules, squads rotated for the Libertadores, and a transfer window mid-season that can change a team overnight. Form in July tells you less than it would in a shorter competition. Compare prices before committing to anything, never chase a losing run, and treat every bet as entertainment rather than an investment — because over a season this long, the house edge has all the time in the world. 18+ · play responsibly · BeGambleAware.org.