Flamengo's campaign in the second round of the 2010 Rio de Janeiro State Championship begins this Saturday. The red-and-black team faces Macaé at 19:30 p.m. in Volta Redonda, and aims to start the Rio Cup on the right foot and thus continue dreaming of a fourth Rio championship.

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The two teams have met only twice, with Flamengo winning. The last match was in last year's State Championship, on February 7th, at the Raulino de Oliveira stadium in Volta Redonda. Flamengo won 2-1, with goals from Marcelinho Paraíba and Zé Roberto. Wallacer scored Macaé's goal.

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During this offseason, the team from the interior of the state trained in Vassouras, aiming to rebound in the state championship. For this second round, the team will have five new additions. In addition to Thiago Coutinho, who was at Mirassol, and Cléber Oliveira, from Santa Cruz, Alvianil Praiano brought back defender Rodrigão and forward Bruno Luiz. Full-back Fernandinho arrived from Portuguesa de Desportos after playing in the 2009 Brazilian Serie B.

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Macaé has gained two more reinforcements for its match against Flamengo this Saturday at 19:30 pm in Volta Redonda, in the first round of the Taça Rio. The club secured a suspension of defense for defender André and forward Léo Santos on Thursday night at the Rio de Janeiro Sports Court (TJD/RJ), who were initially not scheduled to face the Red-Blacks. The only player expected to be out is midfielder Victor Hugo, who suffered a knee injury and is ruled out.

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In the Guanabara Cup, coach Toninho Andrade's starting lineup was as follows: Jefferson; Fred, André, Otávio and Diego; Gedeil, Marciel, Da Silva and Norton; Anderson and Fernandão.

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Away from home – In this State Championship, Flamengo played away from home three times: beating Volta Redonda Bangu 3-1 at the Raulino de Oliveira Stadium; Bangu 2-1 at the Engenhão Stadium; and Boavista 2-1 at the Raulino de Oliveira Stadium. In the nine matches it played in 2010, in the State Championship and the Libertadores, Flamengo took the lead in six. Of these, it won five and lost one. In 2010, Flamengo started off with three losses: coming from behind twice and drawing one game.

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Volta Redonda – Raulino de Oliveira Stadium, also known as Estádio da Cidadania, is a stadium located in the city of Volta Redonda, where Volta Redonda hosts its home matches. Flamengo will play its 60th match in the Steel City this Saturday. In the 59 matches played to date, they have won 35, drawn 14, and lost only 10.