Goias vs Ceara Predictions

• Goias have drawn three of their four home league games this term.
• Dorival Júnior left his position as Ceara coach on Friday to rejoin Flamengo for a third time.
• Ceara are undefeated in their last four away league games with two draws and two wins.
• Ceara have kept clean sheets in three of their last four away league contests.

Flamengo click their fingers for Ceara coach  

Just when things were beginning to go well for Ceara, they lost their coach, which is often the way of things for the minnows in Brazil. Dorival Junior packed his bags for Rio to take on the Flamengo job for a third time following his side’s midweek win over eighth-placed America Mineiro.

The uncertainty that his switch will probably create outweighs any notion that Vovô – or Grandpa – can make it three away wins in a row at Goias this weekend and their odds are too short for our liking.

Two goals from their lively frontman Steven Mendoza earned Grandpa a vital three points at eighth-placed America, while a third clean sheet in four away league games was a strong statement to make against a team that had not been blanked at home since early April. Ceara are a well-balanced unit with bags of confidence right now, but Goias’ home form has been good too.

Big Green have drawn three and won one at  Estádio da Serrinha this term, but all four of their opponents so far are sat above Ceara in the current standings. Goias would have been targeting a win at bottom-placed Fortaleza on Thursday, but a point a few days after a 2-1 away win at Botafogo can be seen as a successful road trip.

Big Green will be hard to break down 

They set up in a 4-5-1 formation that is ideal for counter-attacking and that could make it very hard for Ceara to make a breakthrough here. The visitors will be without suspended right-back Nino Paraíba and midfielder Rodrigo Lindoso, who both picked up yellow cards in midweek, so will need to make changes while Vinicius Silva could make his first start of the league campaign for the hosts.

Backing a stalemate seems a sensible approach here given how many draws Goias have already been involved in at home. It’s also down to our belief that Ceara, who won their last two away league games at odds of 11/4 and 12/5, are just too short at 5/4.

A 0-0 draw also looks worth supporting in correct score markets due to Ceara’s stable defensive structure which has garnered them clean sheets in three of their last four road trips in the league.

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