Flamengo open Serie A title defence at São Paulo — kick-off, team news, how to watch

Flamengo open their Brazilian Serie A title defence with a trip to São Paulo on 28 Jan 2026, kicking off at 19:30 EST (00:30 GMT on 29 Jan). GOAL says it has details on English-language live streams for the match. Flamengo have kept key players Léo Ortiz, Léo Pereira and Carrascal, along with head coach Filipe Luis, and have signed 25-year-old central defender Vitao from Internacional.

Alex Sandro is set to skipper from left-back and Emerson Royal is expected to start. The side come into the game after winning the Copa Libertadores against Palmeiras in November and are reported to be close to signing Lucas Paqueta from West Ham. None of the last 18 meetings between these sides have ended goalless.

São Paulo have lost three of their last five matches; Andre, Luan Santos and Francisco are out for the hosts. Flamengo will be without Sanilo, Luiz Araujo, Nicolas de la Cruz and Saul Niguez. GOAL provides a step-by-step VPN guide for viewers abroad, suggesting services such as NordVPN to connect to a server where the match is broadcast, clear cache and then start streaming.

For big-screen viewing the guide notes many Android-based smart TVs and devices like Amazon Fire TV Stick support native VPN apps, while Apple TV, Roku and consoles may require Smart DNS or casting from a VPN-connected device.

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