Vasco da Gama vs Palmeiras Predictions

Sunday’s Brazilian Serie A action sees Vasco da Gama playing host to Palmeiras. With both sides having plenty to play for, a close game is expected to be in order.

Vasco arrive with spirits high after they picked up a priceless 2-0 home win over 5th placed Sao Paulo in midweek. Almirante played well in the fixture and deserved to take the three points that now leaves them in a far more secure position; 4 points clear of the drop zone with just two matches left to play.

In what’s been a season of turmoil on and off the pitch, Vasco’s aim in the last few months has been to merely stay in the division and they now look all but safe. Nonetheless, with a trip to fellow strugglers Ceara to come on final day, the hosts will be looking to use their last home game of the season here to pick up a positive result and that’s something they can certainly be confident in doing given they’re 6 matches unbeaten on their own patch.

Nonetheless, with Palmeiras in town, Vasco face a big challenge and will have to be at their best to match the visitors. Verdao have been simply brilliant since Luiz Felipe Scolari returned as boss at the midway point of the season and their current 21 match unbeaten league run has them in a position whereby if they draw this match they’ll be all but mathematically champions, whereas a win would hand them the crown outright.

5 points ahead of nearest challenger Flamengo but with a far superior goal difference, only a loss here would complicate matters for Palmeiras and arriving off the back of a 4-0 mauling of America Mineiro in midweek, it’s clear the visitors aren’t feeling the heat at the top. Few can argue that the side will not be worthy champions and it’s almost impossible to envisage them blowing their lead now with a home game against second bottom Vitoria to come on final day.

Ultimately, whilst there can be absolutely no questioning that Palmeiras are a better outfit than Vasco and have enjoyed by far the better campaign, the hosts are a tough nut to crack on home soil and have been playing very well at the Estádio São Januário in recent months. As mentioned above, Vasco are 6 matches unbeaten on home territory and have also lost just 1 of their last 10 games there and for that reason, we think they’ll be able to give Palmeiras a run for their money.

All things considered, it’s backing the draw that has captured our attention and at current prices, that’s exactly where our money is going. As strong as Palmeiras are, they’ve won just 1 of their last 7 trips to face Vasco and having also drawn their last 3 away games 1-1; that’s a scoreline we envisage being repeated once again given that 2 of Vasco’s last 3 home matches have also ended that way.