Belenenses vs Santa Clara Predictions

• Under 2.5 goals have been produced in 5 of the last 7 meetings between these two clubs.
• Under 2.5 goals have been produced in 4 of Santa Clara’s last 5 matches.
• Belenenses have lost 5 of their last 6 matches.
• Santa Clara have won 3 of their last 5 matches, two of which have ended 1-0.

Santa Clara have kept a lot of clean sheets away from home

Belenenses lost 3-2 away at Benfica in the league last time out while Santa Clara made it back to back wins in the Primeira Liga as they beat Pacos Ferreira 2-1 at home, meaning the gap between Saturday’s competitors was stretched to 5pts. Santa Clara have only lost one of their last five matches against Belenenses and head into this weekends’ clash as the form favourites with three wins from their last five outings, while Belenenses’ poor run of form includes five defeats from their last six games.

We’re expecting a tight and tense affair between the pair this Saturday as under 2.5 goals have been scored in five of their last seven meetings and four of Santa Clara’s last five league games have also seen fewer than 3-goals scored. The hosts have already lost five times at home in the league this season while Santa Clara have been consistent on the road with three wins, three draws, and three defeats to their name.

Belenenses average 1.11 points per home game, which is below the league average of 1.49 points, while Santa Clara average 1.33 points per away game, which is above the league average of 1.26 points, so you can start to see why we have backed an away win this weekend. Belenenses don’t score many goals at home and Santa Clara don’t score many on the road, with both averaging under 1-goal per game but the visitors only concede an average of 0.89 goals per away game while the hosts concede an average of 1.89 goals per home game, which is why we have backed a final scoreline of 1-0 in favour of Santa Clara.

Belenenses don’t score many goals in their own backyard

Under 2.5 goals have been produced in 67% of Belenenses’ home games as well as in a massive 89% of Santa Clara’s away games, adding further weight to our prediction for fewer than 3-goals to be scored this weekend. Both teams have scored in 44% of Belenenses’ home matches and just 22% of Santa Clara’s away games, which ties in perfectly with our prediction for a 1-0 away win.

Belenenses have only kept clean sheets in 11% of their home games while Santa Clara have managed to stop their opponents from scoring in a massive 44% of their away games and the hosts have failed to score in 44% of their home matches as well, which makes our prediction for a 1-0 away win look even more probable. A majority of Santa Clara’s wins this season (5) have been obtained with a 1-goal margin, while Belenenses have lost via a 1-goal margin on four separate occasions.

We’re confident that under 2.5 goals will be scored in Saturday’s clash and we have predicted a final scoreline of 1-0 to Santa Clara. The visitors head into Saturday’s match as the form favourites and boast an excellent defensive record on the road which we feel will make the defence against a Belenenses side that have struggled for goals at home.