Botafogo vs Chapecoense Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Botafogo have been a real revelation this season. Of the four sides that came up from Serie B last term, three find themselves currently in the bottom five while Botafogo are riding high in the top five, which is something nobody expected. They’ve got better as the season has gone on too and over the past few months they’ve been as impressive as anyone in the division.

Their last seven matches have produced six clean sheets, five wins and two draws. At home they’ve lost just 1 of their last 14 league games and have won 7 of their last 9, which includes victories over several of the strongest teams in the league, so they are playing with real confidence and conviction at the Estádio Luso-Brasileiro. A 59% home win ratio, is testament to their strength on home soil and it would be higher still was it not for a shaky start to the season.

Chapecoense are the epitomy of a mid-table side and it’s no surprise to see them in 10th place coming into this one. They don’t have much left to play for in the league and will have one eye on next week’s Copa Sudamericana Semi-Final 2nd Leg against San Lorenzo of Argentina. While they are unlikely to field a total reserve team, there may be some rotation given they have another league game at the weekend prior to that. Their recent league form has been patchy with only 2 wins in 9 matches. One of those did come last time out, although it was an unconvincing 1-0 home victory against struggling Figueirense, who had a man sent off after only 26 minutes.

Botafogo aren’t involved in any of the cups but are looking good to secure a top six finish and a place in the Copa Libertadores next year so they should be the more motivated side here. They’ve looked so strong, particularly at the back in recent weeks that they ought to get the job done here against a Chape side that have let in 1.82 goals per game on average on the road.

Therefore, backing Botafogo to win at 4/6 looks like a solid bet here.