Vasco da Gama vs Atletico Paranaese Predictions

Wednesday’s Brazilian Serie A action sees Vasco da Gama doing battle with Atletico PR. The hosts will be desperate to secure all 3 points as the threat of relegation continues to linger.

After a year of turmoil on and off the pitch, the target for Vasco in the remaining 5 games is a clear one; to stay in the division no matter the cost. After switching between Serie A and B in recent years, Almirante are in a fight to secure their top flight status once again but with a 3 points gap between themselves and the drop zone, it’s a fight they are currently favourites to win.

Vasco’s performances in recent months have been reasonably strong and indeed, they arrive having lost just 2 of the last 10 games, the latter of which a 2-1 defeat at Gremio over the weekend. Nonetheless, having lost just 1 of their last 8 home games, winning 4 times in the process, confidence is high in home ranks going into Wednesday’s clash and those taking to the pitch will be highly motivated to record a positive result.

Meanwhile, Atletico PR had looked in relegation trouble early on in the season but a stunning run of 11 consecutive home league wins now has them well out of danger and sitting in the lofty heights of 7th, just 1 point adrift of the Copa Libertadores spots. However, with a Copa Sudamericana semi-final, second leg to come at the end of the month, league action isn’t really the priority for the visitors at the moment.

Tiago Nunes is still expected to field his strongest team for the match, but Atletico’s simply awful away record still has them looking unlikely to take anything home with them. All in all, the side have not won any of their 16 away league matches so far this season, losing 10 times and having also never won at the Estádio São Januário in their entire history, their prospects don’t look the brightest ahead of kick off.

Ultimately, whilst it’s Atletico who are higher in the standings by quite some margin, that’s exclusively down to their home record and as visitors, they are one of the division’s weakest sides and that has Vasco arriving as the favourites.

At current prices, backing a home win looks to provide excellent value and is exactly where our money is going. Atletico rarely show much resolve on enemy territory and with Vasco quite a strong host, that’s unlikely to change here, with a 2-1 margin of home victory on the cards.