Football Predictions
After winning the first leg a week ago, Sao Paulo entertains rivals Palmeiras in the second leg of the Copa do Brasil quarterfinal on Thursday night.
A place in the semis awaits the aggregate winner with Palmeiras hoping that they can turn the deficit and keep alive hopes of winning the Copa title for the first time since 2020. This is a contrast with Sao Paulo who are yet to taste success in the competition.
Palmeiras arrive in the game on a back of some disappointing form after remaining winless in their last five domestic matches following their draw against Flamengo in their last outing. The outing means that they have only collected two points from a possible 12.
H2H/Stats
The two sides met in the cup last season in very similar circumstances with Sao Paulo leading 1-0 from a home first leg, and they would go on to progress from the last 16 via a penalty shootout after Palmeiras won 2-1 in normal time.
The last domestic encounter Palmeiras won came against Sao Paulo early last month in the league, but even then that might not be enough, as was proved in last season’s cup clash.
Overally, both teams have met 89 times with Palmeiras winning 24 games to Sao Paulo’s 22. 23 matches ended in a draw.
Team News
Palmeiras will miss the services of Rafael Navarro who completed a loan move to MLS side Colorado Rapids this week. Midfielder Ze Rafael and Colombian Eduard Atuesta were also absent with injuries in their last outing so it remains to be seen if they’ll be fit for the Cup game.
After scoring the winning goal in the first leg, Sao Paulo’s veteran full-back Rafinha missed the weekend draw with Bragantino. The 37-year-old joined a long list of injury absentees, who are all expected to miss out again here. Giuliano Galoppo and Talles Costa are out in midfield, while defenders Igor Vinicius and Wellington join Erison on the sidelines.
Probable Line Ups
Palmeiras XI: Weverton; Mayke, Gomez, Murilo, Piquerez; Richard Rios, Luan, Gabriel Menino, Raphael Veiga; Dudu, Artur
Sao Paulo XI: Rafael; Nathan Mendes, Arboleda, Franco, Caio Paulista; Pablo Maia, Gabriel Neves, Luciano; Wellington Rato, Calleri, Rodrigo Nestor
Verdict
This match will be a close call considering what is at stake. Both teams see this as an opportunity to increase their silverware chances and despite Sao Paulo winning the first leg, Palmeiras might feel that they can overturn the deficit in this tie and even send the game to penalties.
Bet on Palmeiras win❌
Place your bet here 👉 Melbet, Mozzartbet
Extra tips 👇
We’ve got more bold picks from different matches with all of the permutations and possible outcomes in mind.
Below are the most popular fixtures from TopbetsKE with favourites indicated in bold and feature fixtures linked to our expert betting tips.
We also have Both Team To Score, Over 2.5 Market and a safe bet of Over 1.5.
1X2 Market
- Santos v Atlas❌
- Atus Velden v Al Hilal✅
- Australia v France❌
BTTS
- National Bank v Future FC❌
- Rapid Bucuresti v Sepsi OK❌
- Iceland v Finland✅
Over 2.5
- Aswan v El Dakhlya✅
- Empoli v Castelfiorentino✅
- Austria Wien v Galatasaray✅
Safe bet – Over 1.5
- Australia v France❌
- Japan v Panama✅
- Iceland v Finland✅
- Scotland v Northern Ireland✅
Check out our Jackpot predictions.
A creative and driven journalist with 10+ years of experience with an excellent track record in digital media. A lover of grassroots football, football statistics, and life-changing football stories.
