Minas try to recover from Cup elimination against Superliga leaders Cruzeiro

Still dealing with a frustrating elimination in the Brazilian Cup quarterfinals, Itambé Minas won't have much time to regroup, returning to action in the 2025-2026 Brazilian Men's Superliga on Sunday with a high-stakes match.

Four days after going down to Saneago Goiás Vôlei in the domestic cup, the team will return to the UniBH Arena, in Belo Horizonte, to face league leaders Sada Cruzeiro at 20:00 local time (23:00 UTC), in the fourth leg of the second round of the regular season.

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With the fight for spots in the playoffs heating up as the regular season nears its final stretch, Minas are currently in fifth place with 24 points (seven wins, seven losses) - they have the same points as fourth-placed Goiás and are two above sixth-placed Suzano Vôlei, having the ability to move up or down in the standings depending on how things go in the Derby. Cruzeiro, on the other hand, are guaranteed to end the week at the top of the standings, as they have 38 points (12 wins, two losses) and a five-point lead over second-placed Vôlei Renata Campinas.

The Brazilian Cup defeat was the third-straight suffered by Minas - they also dropped Superliga matches to Joinville Vôlei and SESI Bauru. With only eight matches remaining before the end of the regular season, they need to get back to earning points to fight for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Opposite Samuel Neufeld has been a revelation for Minas this season - the 21-year-old displaced Brazilian national team player Aboubacar 'Abouba' Dramé from the team's starting lineup and is their leading scorer with 180 points. Veteran outside hitter Renato 'Pato' Russomano, who leads the Superliga in passing efficiency with 69.4%, is another standout in Minas' inconsistent campaign.

Their opponents Cruzeiro are in excellent form, entering Sunday's duel in the middle of a nine-match winning streak in domestic tournaments.  A victory in the Derby would get them one step closer to confirming the best campaign in the regular season ahead of the start of the postseason.

Inserted into the starting lineup to replace the injured team captain and legend Wallace de Souza, 25-year-old opposite Welinton Oppenkoski has proved he's up to the task, leading the team and ranking sixth in the Superliga with 229 points. Other players well-positioned in the Superliga stats are libero Alexandre Elias, third in passing efficiency (68.3%), team captain Otávio Pinto, fourth in blocks (31), and Olympic champion middle blocker Lucas Saatkamp, fifth in aces (17).

Cruzeiro have won all three matches against Minas this season, having triumphed in the first round of the Superliga, the Brazilian Supercup and the Minas Gerais State Championship.

Campinas visit Guarulhos on Saturday

Trying to catch Cruzeiro at the top of the standings, second-placed Campinas will play in the first match of the weekend, going on the road against eighth-placed Vôlei Guarulhos Bateubet on Saturday, at 20:30 local time (23:30 UTC).

On Sunday, before the Derby between Minas and Cruzeiro, fourth-placed Goiás play ninth-placed Azulim Sicoob Aracoop Monte Carmelo at 11:00 (14:00 UTC) and 11th-placed Viapol Vôlei São José host 12th-placed JF Vôlei at 17:30 (20:30 UTC).

Brazilian Men’s Superliga – Match Schedule & Results

The fourth leg will be completed on Monday, with another two encounters - tenth-placed Joinville meet third-placed Praia Clube at home at 18:30 (21:30 UTC) and sixth-placed Suzano battle seventh-placed SESI at 21:00 (00:00 UTC, Tuesday).

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