Sport Recife vs Santa Cruz Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

The two Recife clubs are both involved in the relegation battle and it’s looking likely that at least one of them is going to drop out of the league, so this could be the last top flight derby between the sides for some time. Santa Cruz are 19th and 7 points behind Sport Recife who are just one place above the relegation zone so it is a big game for several reasons.

Sport had put a really good run together, taking 14 points from 6 league games between mid-July and mid-August to put some distance between themselves and the sides at the bottom but have fallen back since. They’ve taken just 1 point from their last 3 league games which includes heavy 3-0 defeats at Corinthians and Botafogo. They’ve also faced Santa Cruz twice in the last month but were somewhat surprisingly beaten 1-0 on aggregate by their city rivals in the Copa Sudamericana.

The only goal in that tie was scored by Bruno Moraes for Santa Cruz with only 8 minutes left in the 2nd leg at the Estádio Adelmar da Costa Carvalho. Santa Cruz could perhaps have done without any more distractions though with their top flight future in serious doubt and they come into this game having gone 8 matches without a win in the league, which has left them in real danger of being cut adrift.

This will be a big pressure game for then and one neither side dare lose. As a result it’s likely to be a cagey affair and that has certainly been the case whenever the Recife derby has been played in recent times. They’ve met 6 times this year already and there have only been 5 goals in total so this has all the makings of another low scoring contest. There have been 1 or fewer goals in all of the last 5 so backing Under 2 Goal Line at 2.300 looks to offer great value here.