Atletico Mineiro vs Santos FC
Brasileiro Serie A
Date: Wednesday, 12th July 2017
Kick-off at 23:30 UK
Venue: Estadio Raimundo Sampaio (Belo Horizonte).
Having won each of their last two fixtures (all competitions), Santos come into this match in good form and will be hoping to continue in the same vein; however, their form on the road domestically hasn’t been too smart of late while they’re without a victory away at Atletico-MG since 2007. The hosts, on the other hand, are without a win in two and so will be hoping to improve on that, but they’re unbeaten in three at home and have a pleasing record against Santos at this ground.
Recently, neither of these sides have been consistent, although you can probably rely on Atletico-MG at home more than you can Santos on the road. It’s very hard to know which Santos will turn up when playing away from home; sometimes they’re useful, other times they’re not really at the races. With this in mind, coupled with their recent performances at Estádio Raimundo Sampaio, the hosts look a decent bet here.
In winning each of their last two at home, Atletico have impressed going forward by scoring four goals during that time. They’ve also been fairly sound at the back having conceded just once. Considering that Santos have been conceding quite a few goals on the travels of late, such scoring form bodes well for the home side.
The visitors may have scored three goals in their Copa Libertadores fixture last time out but before that they’d conceded three in two on the road, scoring just one in the process. It’s also worth noting that they’ve got the second-leg of that Copa Libertadores last-16 fixture coming up and so it wouldn’t be the greatest surprise if some of their key players were to be rested for this 649 kilometre journey. You could also argue that the hosts may rest players as they’re too involved in that competition, but with both this and their second-leg knockout fixture being at home, it’s less of an issue.
All things considered, an Atletico-MG side who’ve lost just once in seven matches on home soil are expected to get the better of a Santos side who could easily have their eye off the ball here, so to speak.
Atletico Mineiro vs Santos FC: Head-to-head
Atletico-MG have an excellent home record against Santos. They lost just twice in 17 matches since 1999, while picking up 10 wins and 5 draws in the process.
Also, 7 of the 9 matches between the sides at the Belo Horizonte saw both teams scoring.
Atletico Mineiro vs Santos FC: Prediction
Both teams are in excellent form and this look like a tight clash on paper. Despite Atletico MG have an excellent home record against Santos, we hardly see the home advantage playing a role here.
Therefore, we recommend to make picks from the goal markets.
