Santos v Goias

Santos vs Goias Preview

Santos will be desperate to put an end to a dismal seven-match winless run in the Brazilian top flight when they play host to Goias at their Estádio Urbano Caldeira on Sunday morning as the hosts look to halt their slide down the Serie A table with a win.

Santos have now dropped down to 14th place in the domestic top flight table following three draws and four defeats, points picked up in draws with Palmeiras, Internacional and Coritiba have been outweighed by defeats to Bragantino, Corinthians, Flamengo and Cuiaba which has left Santos just two points above the relegation zone.

The bigger picture shows Santos have captured just three wins out of their last 16 matches overall, two of which were achieved on home soil at the Estádio Urbano Caldeira with victories over America Mineiro and Bahia.

Having won just these two games out of their last 10 at home does suggest Santos may struggle to grab the points here, especially as Santos have lost the previous three meetings on the trot against Goias as well.

Onto Goias and the visitors currently occupy one of the places in the relegation zone prior to this weekend's action in the Brazilian top flight and their situation hasn't been helped by the fact that they've lost their last two games on the trot; defeats to Bragantino and Coritiba have left Goias sitting fourth from bottom in the Serie A table.

Goias have also struggled to gain any sort of momentum this season and their difficulties are underlined by the fact that the visitors have managed to register just two wins out of their last 11 matches overall, which were gained in victories against Botafogo and Vasco da Gama, while also slipping to seven defeats as well.

Results away from home have also been poor as Goias have recorded just one win from their previous nine outings on the road and being handed no fewer than seven defeats in the process, so they also look highly unlikely to grab all three points in this clash.

In addition, Goias have conceded 2 goals or more in six of these last nine away games while also failing to score in five of these matches themselves and it's this statistic that could give Sunday's hosts, Santos, a valuable lifeline in the outcome of this encounter.

Santos v Goias Verdict

It's true that Goias have won each of the previous three encounters on the trot against Santos but both of these sides head into this upcoming clash in pretty ordinary form which suggests more of a level playing field for this fixture.

With home advantage and more wins at home (2) than Goias' wins away from home (1) in recent times, Santos may just sneak a narrow win here.

Therefore, our main bet will be Santos win @ 1.85

Other side bets worth considering:

Santos win & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.50

Correct score: Santos 1-0 @ 5.50