The ninth round of the Guanabara Cup, the first round of the U-20 State Championship, will pit Flamengo against a direct rival in the fight for a spot in the top four: Madureira. The two teams will face off next Wednesday (February 4th) at 18.02:15 pm at Nivaldo Pereira Stadium. Flamengo is in fourth place with 30 points, while the Conselheiro Galvão team is in third with 14 points.

"I expect the team to improve. We made some changes before the match against Vasco, and things fell into place. But now the derby is over, and the focus is on the direct clash against Madureira. Since a win will take us past them, the match is considered very important for us," said Marcelo Buarque, the red-and-black coach.

Flamengo heads into the Madureira match, buoyed by their excellent result in the last round. At the home of their biggest rival, the "Mais Querido" defeated Vasco 4-1. Marcelo Buarque warns that the rout shouldn't make the red-and-blacks relax. 

"The game is over. It's a big one, but we can't just sit on the scoreboard. We've seen what we're capable of. I'm demanding more of the players now because I know what they can produce. The result against Vasco motivates us to go into the next round," he said.