Botafogo vs Sport Recife Prediction: Fogo to reign supreme in Rio

Sport Recife, already relegated and on a run of six consecutive defeats, take a trip to the Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santos on Tuesday (23:30 GMT) for their next Serie A game against Botafogo, who are unbeaten in their last five and knocking on the door of the top five, which would secure direct entry to next year's Copa Libertadores group stage.

Below are my Botafogo vs Sport Recife predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this top-flight fixture from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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New customers only. Deposit via Debit Card & place first bet £10+ (1/1+) on Sports in 7 days. £30 Sports & £20 Acca Free Bets within 10 hrs of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility, payment excl. & T&Cs Apply.

Team News

Neto (thigh), Bastos, Kaio (both knee), Jordan Barrera, Matheus Martins (both muscle), Nathan Fernandes (arm) and Alvaro Montoro (shoulder) are all out injured for Botafogo.

However, Artur, who came off the bench and scored his side’s second in their 3-0 victory over Vasco da Gama on November 5, is free to return after serving a suspension in a goalless draw at Vitoria four days later.

Football Odds

Sport Recife, who recently dispensed with the services of six-goal forward Derik Lacerda for disciplinary reasons, have Ze Roberto, Denis (both knee), Diogo Hereda (groin) and Pedro Augusto (muscle) in their treatment room.

Ramon Menezes and Matheus Alexandre were both sent off in Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Flamengo, so the visitors will have to make a couple of changes to their defence, with Aderlan and Joao Silva likely to replace the duo.

Botafogo vs Sport Recife Odds

Botafogo (1/5) are heavy favourites to triumph on Tuesday, handed an implied probability of 83.3%, while Sport Recife are 10/1, or a 9.1% chance, to triumph on their league travels for just the second time this season, and the first time since August 11.

The draw is priced at 9/2, both teams to score at 11/10, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/7.

Betfred are offering a couple of Price Boosts for this game, including Botafogo To Win Both Halves at 7/4 (was 6/4).

To Win to Nil - Botafogo @ 9/10

Fogo boast the third-best defence in Serie A this season, conceding just 28 goals in 33 games - only leaders Flamengo (21) and third-place Cruzeiro (22) have been breached fewer times. Unsurprisingly, Flamengo and Cruzeiro (both 16) are also the only two sides to have kept more clean sheets than Fogo (15).

Sport Recife, meanwhile, have failed to score in 42.42% (14) of their 33 league games this year, including their last two away from home. They've scored just three times across their last six away matches, and all three goals were struck by Derik Lacerda, who is no longer at the club.

Today's Football Fixtures

Fogo left it late in the reverse fixture on July 20, winning 1-0 at the Estadio Adelmar da Costa Carvalho thanks to a Cuibano strike in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.

I’m expecting things to be a little more comfortable this time around, and having kept four clean sheets in their last five games, including their last three, I’m confident Fogo can record another shutout on Tuesday.

Bet Builder - Over 2.5 Sport Recife Corners & Leo Pereira (SCR) 2+ Shots @ 23/10

Despite being cut adrift at the bottom of the league, Sport Recife are fifth for corners taken per game in Serie A with 5.88. Remarkably, away from home, they are joint-top for corners taken per game alongside title contenders Palmeiras (both 6.13).

Sport Recife have recorded 3+ corners in their last 16 league games, last failing to reach three in a 1-0 win at Gremio on August 11, when they took two.

Botafogo, meanwhile, are conceding, on average, 4.64 corners per game in this season’s Brazilian top flight (four at home).

Fogo have seen their last five opponents take at least three corners, despite avoiding defeat in all five games (W2, D3) and keeping four clean sheets in that run.

In July’s reverse fixture, Fogo triumphed 1-0, but conceded six corners at the Estadio Adelmar da Costa Carvalho.

Sport Recife winger Leo Pereira was rotting on the bench at league rivals Vitoria when these sides last met, and while he failed to make an immediate impression upon moving to the club at the start of August, he bagged a brace in a 4-2 defeat to Atletico Mineiro earlier this month.

The 25-year-old took six shots in that defeat on November 8, and a week later, in last Saturday’s loss to Flamengo, he recorded three efforts - all inside the first 31 minutes, with Menezes sent off 11 minutes later.

Despite eight of his 18 league appearances this season coming from the bench, Leo Pereira is averaging 1.6 shots per game and has registered 2+ shots in seven of his 10 starts for Sport Recife.