Corinthians vs Ceara Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Sunday’s Brazilian Serie A action sees reigning champions Corinthians playing host to the struggling, newly promoted Ceara. It’s expected to be a comfortable evening for the home side.

Corinthians came into 2018 off the back of a simply dominant campaign last season, in which the side lifted both the Campeonato Paulista and Serie A titles with consummate ease. Fabio Carille’s troops have since retained the former and had made strong starts to both their Serie A and Copa Libertadores ventures, but recent results are becoming slightly concerning.

Timao are now without a win in three, drawing away at Vitoria in the cup before losing to both Atletico Miniero and Independiente in the league and Libertadores respectively. Still set to advance in continental action and sitting on 6 points from a possible 9 in Serie A, the hosts are still in a strong position, but will be looking to break out of their irregular run of form in this one, by building on a strong recent home record which reads 8 wins from the last 11.

Corinthians couldn’t have picked a better opponent to try and do that against, with Ceara struggling to adapt to life in the top flight. Vozão were promoted to the top tier after a third placed finish in Serie B last season, but are yet to even so much as score a goal upon their return, picking up just a single point from their opening fixtures against Santos, Sao Paulo and Flamengo.

Boss Marcelo Chamusca’s always faced a tall order as regards keeping his troops in the top flight, with the squad fairly uninspiring and indeed, early signs have been far from promising. The visitors have looked devoid of attacking ideas, averaging just 2 shots on target a game and although the schedule has been tough on the new boys, it doesn’t get any easier, with a trip to by far the nation’s strongest team over the last year.

Ultimately, it’d be a huge surprise if this one ended in anything but a home win. Man for man, Corinthians are by far the better side and are typically dominant in front of their own fans.

Last season the hosts won 12 of their 19 games as hosts, conceding well below a goal a game on average and with 5 of their last 6 home wins this year coming to nil, backing the hosts to win without conceding simply has to be the bet against a Ceara team in such poor attacking shape. Corinthians are a side built on their defensive proficiency and it’s hard to envisage them faltering against an opponent clearly not on their level, with a 2-0 margin of victory on the cards.