Santos v Cruzeiro

Santos vs Cruzeiro Preview

The Brazilian top flight action resumes on Thursday night and features this upcoming clash between Santos and Cruzeiro when the two teams meet at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira with both sides in desperate need of three points.

Having been dealt back-to-back defeats on the road at Atletico Mineiro and America Mineiro respectively, Santos will no doubt be eager to return to the more familiar surroundings of their own patch for Thursday evening's clash where they recorded a welcome and much needed 2-1 home win against third placed Gremio last time out on home soil.

However, league wins have been in short supply lately for Santos who have managed to scrape together just two victories from their previous 16 matches in Serie A overall, both wins being achieved at their Estádio Urbano Caldeira with wins against Goias and the aforementioned Gremio.

Nine defeats within this 16-match period though have outweighed Santos' minimal successes and these have resulted in the hosts dropping down into the relegation zone in the Serie A table ahead of next Thursday's action.

Nine of these last 16 matches have also resulted in Under 2.5 goals while results at home appear to give Santos the best chance of returning to winning ways as the hosts have lost just two of their last 11 matches, five of which have also produced two goals or less.

Cruzeiro currently occupy the last available spot in the top 12 pack of the Serie A table but the visitors know they need a result away at Santos next Thursday if they're to fend off challenges from the chasing teams such as Corinthians, Internacional and Goias, who are all hot on the heels of Cruzeiro.

This may be easier said than done though as Cruzeiro have failed to win any of their last eight matches overall in the Brazilian top flight which consist of five draws and three defeats; points picked up in stalemates with Coritiba, Athletico PR, Botafogo, Corinthians and Bragantino have been offset by the three defeats.

Losses to Goias, Palmeiras and Gremio have prevented Cruzeiro from further cementing their place in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana and goals could also be in short supply as six of Cruzeiro's last eight away games have also resulted in Under 2.5 goals being scored.

Santos v Cruzeiro Verdict

This upcoming encounter at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira could therefore produce a much more tightly fought battle between these two sides who have clearly been struggling to achieve any sort of form in the domestic top flight in recent times.

The head-to-head history though points towards what could be a narrow win for the visitors, Cruzeiro, as they have won six out of the previous seven meetings and a single goal may be just enough to settle things here next Thursday.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.53

Other side bets worth considering:

Cruzeiro win @ 2.62

Correct score: Cruzeiro 1-0 @ 6.50