Palmeiras vs Junior Predictions

Thursday’s Copa Libertadores action sees Brazilians Palmeiras doing battle with Colombian’s Junior. The hosts are expected to secure all three points with very few issues.

Palmeiras came into the Libertadores this year as one of the favourites to lift it, possessing a squad that is the envy of most in South America. Nonetheless, having won their first two games in a trip to Junior themselves and a home clash with Melgar, the Brazilian champions fell to defeat away at San Lorenzo last week and that loss has left them needing a win from this game to get things back on the right track.

The hosts can certainly be confident in getting the job done on Thursday, given they beat Junior comfortably away from home a few weeks ago and also dispatched of them twice last year. The fact they’ve won 4 of their last 5 home games also has Luiz Felipe Scolari’s troops’ prospects looking bright prior to kick off and those taking to the pitch will be going all out for victory.

Meanwhile, it’s been a disastrous Libertadores campaign so far for Colombian champions Junior and El Tiburon are all but out after recording defeats in all 3 of their opening matches. The side have looked well short of the standard required and the best they can realistically hope for now is at least salvaging a Copa Sudamericana place via a 3rd place finish in the group.

That being said, even that would require a serious upturn in the visitors’ results and considering they’ve won just 1 of their last 9 matches, that’s not something that looks at all likely. A dreadful Libertadores away record that reads 5 defeats from 7 on the road also makes for poor reading and there can be no doubting that the side appear well up against it on Thursday.

All things considered, this is a match Palmeiras really should be winning and if they perform at even close to their maximum, they’ll do so. Man for man they’re by far a stronger outfit than Junior and the visitors arrive on Brazilian soil with confidence and spirits very low.

As far as the betting goes, backing a home win to nil looks the way to play and is exactly where our money is going at current prices. Palmeiras have kept a clean sheet in their last 4 home games and Junior don’t look a team ready to end that streak, with a comfortable 2-0 margin of home victory on the cards.