Criciuma SC v Fortaleza CE

Criciuma vs Fortaleza Preview

Criciuma were handed a 2-1 loss away from home at Flamengo over the weekend in the Brazilian Serie A which in turn became a third defeat in four games for the upcoming hosts, while Fortaleza by contrast captured a fourth league win on the trot by way of recording a convincing 3-1 home win against Atletico GO which helped lift the visitors up into fourth place and possible contention for a Copa Libertadores spot.

Three recent defeats in four games has resulted in Criciuma dropping down to 15th place in the Serie A table following previous earlier losses at the hands of Vitoria and Corinthians along with gaining just a point in a 1-1 draw at home with second from bottom club Fluminense.

These losses have left the hosts sitting just two points above the relegation zone and the bigger picture suggests a home win here for Criciuma looks to at least hang in the balance as Criciuma have managed to collect just three wins in their last 13 matches overall in the domestic top flight.

Victories over the likes of Atletico GO, Botafogo and Cruzeiro though have been outweighed by suffering seven defeats as well, which includes losses incurred at home against Palmeiras and Cuiaba.

Fortaleza will make their way to the Estádio Heriberto Hülse on the back of four important but nevertheless impressive league wins on the trot as the visitors have accounted for the likes of Fluminense, third placed Flamengo, Vitoria and Atletico GO to thrust themselves up into the top four of the Serie A table.

Since being dealt back-to-back defeats by Bahia and Cuiaba both away from home in 1-0 and 5-0 losses respectively back in June, Fortaleza have been handed just one further loss in their subsequent nine games in the Brazilian top flight, while also picking up a total of six wins during this period as well.

The bigger picture shows Fortaleza have lost just these three games out of their previous 22 games overall, so Juan Vojvoda's side will fancy their chances of gaining a positive result here at the Estádio Heriberto Hülse especially as they have registered four wins in their last nine outings on the road.

Criciuma v Fortaleza Verdict

Recent form and results certainly suggest Fortaleza look the more likely of these two teams to grab the all-important three points here at the Estádio Heriberto Hülse having won their last four league matches on the trot.

However, this upcoming fixture looks to be a very tightly fought clash between two sides who have produced low-scoring encounters in previous meetings against each other and this has resulted in four out of the last six fixtures resulting in Under 2.5 goals being scored.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.61

Other side bets worth considering:

Fortaleza win @ 2.87

Correct Score: Fortaleza 1-0 @ 7.50