Gremio vs Goias Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Wednesday’s Brazilian Cup round of 16, second leg action sees Gremio playing host to second tier Goias. The home side look set for a comfortable evening, having won the first leg 2-0.

Nonetheless, we expect to see a committed performance from Gremio, as the team’s squad players get a chance to impress, with Tricolor’s main starters resting ahead of a crunch derby with Internacional at the weekend. The cup is definitely not the main priority for Renato Gaucho’s troops this season, but they are still taking it very seriously, evidenced by the fact they played their strongest team in a first leg they dominated from start to finish.

Gremio are looking to compete an all fronts this year, both domestically and on the continental stage. The hosts showed their strength by winning the Copa Libertadores last season and having retained all of their key players, look set for another successful campaign. They have looked a real force once again this year, lifting the Campeonato Guacho, all but securing progression from their Libertadores group and arriving for the clash having battered Santos 5-1 at the weekend, lifting themselves up to 5th in the Serie A table.

Meanwhile, things are certainly not as happy in Goias ranks, with the visitors having made an awful start to the new Serie B season. Since relegation from the top flight in 2015, Verdão have struggled in the second tier, finishing in the bottom half in back to back years and on current evidence, little looks like changing.

Indeed, the visitors currently lie 18th and have picked up just a single point from their opening 4 matches, costing Hélio dos Anjos his job. A 3-1 defeat on home soil to rivals Vila Nova has left confidence at rock bottom in the camp and it’s up to caretaker boss Augusto César to try and raise spirits ahead of this trip, before Ney Franco takes permanent charge at the weekend.

Ultimately, changes or not, this is a fixture Gremio should be winning at a canter. They have one of the deepest squads in the nation and those selected should have more than enough about them to dispatch of a Goias side in wretched shape.

Goias are shipping goals at a worrying rate, having conceded an average of 1.71 goals a game over their last 7 fixtures. The last thing they need now is a trip to a Gremio team that has rattled home an average of 3.6 goals a game over their last 5 home fixtures and there’s no doubting the visitors look set to suffer.

As such, we see good value in backing Gremio on the -1.5 Asian Handicap line, meaning we need Gremio to win by more than a single goal margin, something they’ve done in 6 of their last 7 home wins and could well do again here, with a 3-0 full time scoreline looking on the cards.