Municipal Jalapa vs Diriangen Predictions

• Jalapa’s have conceded only three goals in seven home games.
• Jalapa have lost only once at home in the Clausura championship
• Diriangen have lost successive away matches

Jalapa set themselves up for success on home soil

Jalapa are a tough nut to crack on home soil and they are good enough to secure a positive result against high-flying Diriangen when the teams meet at the Estadio Roy Fernando Bermudez.

The hosts are a totally different beast when they are at their Ocotal base compared to on their travels and that suggests they could be worth backing to cause an upset, particularly with a defensive record which belies the mid-table league position.

Jalapa have played 15 matches in the Clausura championship – the closing league in Nicaragua which has three rounds remaining before the play-offs – and the difference between the home and away form is stark.

At home Jalapa have played seven times, won five, drawn one and lost once with nine goals scored and just three conceded. No team in Nicaragua has conceded fewer at home this term.

Diriangen downfall set to continue

It’s a different story away with Jalapa winning once and conceding ten times, but that won’t be an issue facing them on Saturday evening. With the last meeting between these teams at this venue ending goalless back in September, a Jalapa DNB looks a good option.

This is especially true when you look at Diriangen’s recent troubles. They have lost successive matches on the road – 2-1 at Managua in a bad-tempered match which saw red cards for both teams and 3-0 in a thumping loss at Juventus Managua.

The visitors may be chasing the top spot in the Nicaraguan Clausura, but they’re not coming into this clash in the best of form.

Jalapa did surprisingly lose 1-0 to Chinandega in their last home game, but that was their first defeat on home soil since November. Their last nine home games have resulted in seven wins and seven of those matches were also under 2.5 goals.

That suggests if Jalapa are to win they will do so in a slender margin which points us towards a 1-0 correct-score prediction. The hosts have kept four clean sheets in six and Diriangen’s dodgy away form offers hope of an upset being on the cards.