Cruzeiro vs Santos Predictions

Sunday’s Brazilian Serie A action sees Cruzeiro doing battle with Santos. A close game is expected to be in order with little looking like separating the two.

League affairs are taking a backstage for Cruzeiro at the moment, with Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil action the priority, so changes are set to be made once again for this clash. Nonetheless, Raposa still hold an outside chance of seizing a Copa Libertadores spot via the Serie A action, so will want to take a positive result from the game irrespective of the rotation set to be made.

16 points behind leaders Sao Paulo and 8 points shy of a Libertadores place, it’s been a pretty underwhelming campaign for the hosts as far as the league is concerned, with inconsitency blighting their season. In recent months, Cruzeiro have been struggling to balance contesting 3 competitions and that’s something more than apparent when looking at their Serie A results, having drawn 6 of their last 7 league matches.

Meanwhile, Santos endured a miserable first half of the season but things have picked up with boss Cuca now settled and inspiring an upturn in results. Peixe had looked in danger of suffering a shock relegation but have shot up the table in recent weeks, now sitting in a far more comfortable 9th positon, 5 points clear of the drop zone.

Unbeaten in 6 ln the league, 4 of which victories, confidence is clearly high in travelling ranks. With no cup or continental football left to fight for, the visitors can only focus on finishing as high up the table as possible and if they could secure what would be a third consecutive win on the road in this one, they could even begin to start aiming to salvage a Libertadores spot.

Ultimately, neither side has pulled up any trees in the action we’ve seen so far and it’s fair to say both parties have underwhelmed. Santos are currently in the better shape of the two but Cruzeiro remain a powerful force on home soil and thus, we look set for a tight 90 minutes.

At current prices, and given the regularity with which Cruzeiro are sharing the spoils lately, backing the draw looks the best way to play. Improved though they may be, Santos are unlikely to claim all three points considering they’ve won just 3 times on the road all season and we can envisage the clash ending in a dull 0-0 stalemate. Cruzeiro’s last 2 home games have ended that way, as have 3 of Santos’ last 5 matches and it’s a scoreline that looks well worth a play in addition to our main tip.