This week sees Gremio, Coritiba and six more Brazilian teams make their debuts in South America's annual knock-out competition.
Gremio will be eager to avenge their 2-1 defeat to Coritiba in the Brazilian league on the weekend when they play host to their rivals in both team's opening Copa Sudamericana fixture on Tuesday.
The Tricolor have reinforced their squad with plenty of quality this season, with the likes of Elano, Gilberto Silva, Marcelo Moreno, Fabio Aurelio, Ze Roberto and Souza, and are clearly amongst the main candidates to fight for the title.
According to 23-year-old striker Souza, the match against Coritiba will be the opportunity for Gremio to forget their painful Copa do Brasil elimination earlier in the season.
"We have to do our utmost to start the Copa Sudamericana in fashion. We want to win this title so much and so do the fans, because it also provides us with direct entry to the Libertadores," said Souza.
"We failed in the Copa do Brasil and now we will do our best to succeed in the Sudamericana."
Coritiba, who are also hoping to get their hands on the title, will arrive in Porto Alegre with two absences, those of defender Pereira and midfielder Sergio Manoel.
On Wednesday, there will be three more all-Brazilian affairs, with Atletico Goianiense against Figueirense, Bahia versus Sao Paulo and Palmeiras up against Botafogo.
From these fixtures, the pick of the bunch is definitely the tie between Palmeiras and Botafogo. Palmeiras, who recently won the Copa do Brasil, will be aiming to win their second major tournament of the year.
To date, Internacional, Gremio's city rivals, are the only Brazilian team to have lifted the title.
The Tricolor have reinforced their squad with plenty of quality this season, with the likes of Elano, Gilberto Silva, Marcelo Moreno, Fabio Aurelio, Ze Roberto and Souza, and are clearly amongst the main candidates to fight for the title.
According to 23-year-old striker Souza, the match against Coritiba will be the opportunity for Gremio to forget their painful Copa do Brasil elimination earlier in the season.
"We have to do our utmost to start the Copa Sudamericana in fashion. We want to win this title so much and so do the fans, because it also provides us with direct entry to the Libertadores," said Souza.
"We failed in the Copa do Brasil and now we will do our best to succeed in the Sudamericana."
Coritiba, who are also hoping to get their hands on the title, will arrive in Porto Alegre with two absences, those of defender Pereira and midfielder Sergio Manoel.
On Wednesday, there will be three more all-Brazilian affairs, with Atletico Goianiense against Figueirense, Bahia versus Sao Paulo and Palmeiras up against Botafogo.
From these fixtures, the pick of the bunch is definitely the tie between Palmeiras and Botafogo. Palmeiras, who recently won the Copa do Brasil, will be aiming to win their second major tournament of the year.
To date, Internacional, Gremio's city rivals, are the only Brazilian team to have lifted the title.
