Palmeiras vs Botafogo Predictions

Sunday’s Brazilian Serie A action sees Palmeiras doing battle with Botafogo at the Estádio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho.The hosts arrive as big favourites to secure all three points and will be looking to do exactly that without issues.

It’s fair to say Mano Menezes’ honeymoon period as Palmeiras boss looks to have come crashing to a halt and the side are at real risk of dropping out of the title race. Menezes won his first 5 games in charge of Verdao but is now winless in 3 and a terrible 2-0 defeat away at rivals Santos in midweek saw the side drop down to 3rd and they’re starting to look cut adrift from leaders Flamengo.

Palmeiras won’t want to lose their domestic crown but it’s going to take a near perfect end to the season to avoid that happening; making games like Sunday’s a must win. Nonetheless, with a staggering home record that reads 21 wins from their last 24 home league matches, confidence will still be high coming into Sunday’s game and those taking to the pitch will be desperate to get the job done.

Meanwhile, Botafogo have also benefited from a managerial change, winning their first game since sacking Eduardo Barroca in a 3-1 victory over Goias in midweek. Caretaker boss Bruno Lazaroni remains in charge for this trip to Sao Paulo this weekend and will be looking to get another strong performance from a group that has been struggling in recent weeks.

Indeed, it’s one thing beating Goias at home but it’s hard to see Botafogo taking anything from this game, given the manner in which they’ve been playing. They’ve lost 4 of their last 5 games and having also failed to score in their last 3 away games, it’s clear for all to see that they’re not a particularly powerful outfit on their travels.

Ultimately, as mentioned above, this is a match Palmeiras have to win and dropping points in it is simply not an option. Man for man, they are stronger than the visitors in all areas of the pitch and will be looking to prove exactly that and preserve their excellent home record.

All things considered, it’s backing Palmeiras to win to nil that’s captured our attention as far as the betting goes and is something we’re more than happy to do. Palmeiras have won 15 of their last 24 home league games to nil and having beaten Botafogo 1-0 away from home earlier this term, we fancy them to get the better of them once again via the same margin.