Chapecoense vs Santos Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Sunday’s Brazilian Serie A action sees Chapecoense doing battle with Santos. The hosts will be looking to maintain their strong home performances in order to claim victory.

Chapecoense returned to action following the World Cup break with a solid, if unspectacular 1-1 draw at home to Bahia, in what was an even game throughout. The result leaves the side in 14th place, two points above the drop zone in an area they’d be happy to finish come the end of the campaign, having been tipped to go down.

If Chape can maintain their strong showings at the Arena Conda, they’ll have more than enough to keep their heads above water. Away performances remain a real concern for Gilson Kleina’s troops but yet to lose on home soil in the league so far whilst winning 3 of the 6 games contested, confidence remains high going into the clash with building on an overall home record that reads 12 wins from 18 fixtures in 2018 undoubtedly the target.

Meanwhile, Santos were fortunate to escape their midweek derby with Palmeiras with a point, with the match ending 1-1 after their rivals missed several big opportunities. Peixe have not looked a strong outfit at any stage of this season and pressure remains on boss Jair Ventura who has little support from the fans.

Whilst the visitors were not expected to challenge for anything at the top end of the table given the bleak financial situation they have been contesting, few people would have had them down for being just 1 point above the relegation zone at this stage of the campaign. On home soil, Santos remain fairly competitive but they won’t be relishing a return to the road for this match, having lost 4 of their 6 away games so far.

Ultimately, whilst little separates the two in the standings, they look far easier to separate in this match alone. With Chape strong on their own patch and Santos showing very little resolve on their travels, it’s clear that the hosts have to be regarded as bigger favourites than the prices imply and were more than happy to back them on the Draw No Bet line as a result.

Santos are very weak away from home comforts and that’s reflected in the fact they’ve scored an average of just 0.5 goals a game on the road. At the very worst Chape shouldn’t lose the match but we think they can claim the points, with a 1-0 margin of victory on the cards.