Preview: Flamengo vs Cusco Palpite - prediction, team news, lineups

Flamengo and Cusco meet on Tuesday, May 27, at 01:30 BST at the Maracana Stadium in the final round of the 2026 Copa Libertadores group stage. The reigning champions sit top of Group A on 13 points and remain unbeaten, while the Peruvian visitors arrive with nothing left to play for, rooted to the bottom of the standings and already eliminated from contention.

The Rio side come into the contest on the back of a heavy defeat to Palmeiras in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, while Cusco suffered a 3-2 defeat to Independiente Medellin in their most recent outing and have collected just a single point from their group-stage campaign.

Match preview

Despite having already secured qualification for the knockout rounds, Flamengo arrive in uncertain domestic form following a 3-0 home defeat to Palmeiras in the Brasileirao.

The result denied them the chance to close the gap at the top of the table, with Carrascal's red card midway through the first half proving decisive.

Flamengo remain second in the league with 31 points — seven behind leaders Palmeiras, who have 38 — though they do have a game in hand from matchday four, against Mirassol, still to play.

Their continental campaign, however, has been near-flawless: four wins and a draw, with an average of 16 shots per game yielding eight goals, places them among the top four attacking sides in the competition.

Cusco, meanwhile, have already been eliminated after a wretched group stage of four defeats and one draw. It is the first Copa Libertadores campaign under their current name — the Peruvian club were officially known as Real Garcilaso until 2019.

In their domestic league they sit sixth in Liga 1, and secured a 1-0 win over Atletico Grau last time out through a goal from Manzaneda — his first of 2026.

Defensive fragility has been the defining problem for Alejandro Orfila's side, with the backline breached in the majority of their matches. Across both the Libertadores and Liga 1, Cusco carry a negative goal difference of -5 and -4 respectively.

The trip to Rio de Janeiro amounts to little more than an obligation to see out their continental campaign with some degree of dignity.

Flamengo Copa Libertadores form:

W W D W

Flamengo form (all competitions):

D W L D W L

Cusco Palpite Copa Libertadores form:

L L L D L

Cusco Palpite form (all competitions):

D D D L L W

Team News

Having secured qualification, Flamengo manager Leonardo Jardim will now be targeting the best overall group stage record in the competition to guarantee home advantage in the knockout rounds.

Carrascal received a red card at the weekend — his third dismissal of the season — but is expected to start on Tuesday, with the suspension applying only to the domestic competition.

Cebolinha and Arrascaeta both remain sidelined with more serious injuries. Other players may be rested with the May 30 Brasileirao fixture against Coritiba, also at the Maracana, in mind.

Cusco have nothing to play for and cannot advance with only one point to their name.

Manager Alejandro Orfila may rotate his squad, though with no players injured or suspended, he is likely to name a side close to the one that lost 3-2 at home to Independiente Medellin last time out. The 4-1-4-1 system is expected to remain in place, with Juan Tevez leading the line.

Flamengo possible starting lineup:

Rossi; Emerson Royal, Leo Ortiz (Danilo), Leo Pereira, Ayrton Lucas; Evertton Araujo, Lucas Paqueta, Luiz Araujo; Carrascal, Samuel Lino, Bruno Henrique. Manager: Leonardo Jardim.

Cusco Palpite possible starting lineup:

Diaz; Fuentes, Ampuero, Bolivar; Ruidiaz, Valenzuela, Carabajal, Soto, Diez; Manzaneda, Callejo. Manager: Alejandro Orfila.

We say: Flamengo 3-0 Cusco Palpite

The clear gulf in quality between these two sides should still play firmly in Flamengo’s favour, even if rotation becomes a factor. With one of the deepest and strongest squads in South American football, the hosts are still expected to assert complete control at the Maracana Stadium.

For Cusco, the occasion offers little more than the experience of playing at one of the continent’s iconic venues. Already eliminated and with nothing tangible left to fight for, the Peruvian side appear likely to provide limited resistance against a Flamengo team eager to close out the group stage in commanding fashion.