Brazilian Serie A
2008-05-17 - Sport Recife vs EC Vitoria Salvador
A Sports Betting Pick by Merlin
Brazil, Serie A
Venue: Ilha do Retiro, Recife - Brazil.
Saturday 17th May 2008 - KO 10.10pm (UK time)
SPORT
SPORT lost their 2008 Serie A opener, last week, to Botafogo in Rio de Janeriro - no real surprise they went down 2-0.
I did however that day, mark them down as a good bet in their next home game, they in fact obliged on Wednesday night in the Brazil Cup against Internacional, beating them 3-1 - with only 10 men from 68 minutes onwards - not a bad win eh!
I must confess though, that Cup win was a bonus - because when I pencilled them in for a win, it was this game I was thinking of.
Sport are a solid side at home, and other teams do not relish visits to the Northern Lion's den. They scored 40 goals at home last season and in the process, bagged 38 Points.
For sure they will be pushing for a top 10 spot this year - and they have every chance of doing so.
VITORIA
VITORIA are also based in north-east Brazil, not like, Sport, in Pernambuco , but in Salvador, Bahia.
They are in Serie A this season by virtue of finishing 4th in Serie B - and frankly, I expect them to go straight back down.
They had a tough assignment at home last week - and as expected (at least I expected defeat - or a draw at best) were beaten 0-2 by Cruzeiro.
It wasn't that long ago ,they were in Serie C (2006). They have however, tasted the top flight , but were relegated in 2004 - and have not seen top drawer league football since.
ANALYSIS
If we look at the head-to-head between these two sides, Vitoria are actually superior - but this is so misleading, but we must take a brief look.
All head-to-heads:
Jun 18, 2005 Serie B Vitoria Salvador 3 - 2 Sport Recife
Oct 3, 2001 Serie A Vitoria Salvador 1 - 0 Sport Recife
Sep 2, 2000 Serie A Vitoria Salvador 4 - 3 Sport Recife
Nov 7, 1999 Serie A Sport Recife 1 - 1 Vitoria Salvador
Aug 5, 1998 Serie A Sport Recife 2 - 1 Vitoria Salvador
You will notice that the history between them is not really relevant for 2008 - at least in my opinion it's not - most of the games were pre 2001, and today they are both very different teams!
Sport have a strong squad of players, and whilst Vitoria have improved their team from last season, they will be no match for Sport at home.
VERDICT
It's Sport all the way - even though I must say in advance, I personally don't like Sport Recife, because I support Nautico, another Recife based Serie A team.
But there is no getting away from it - they will be superior here - and ought to win comfortably!
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take SPORT RECIFE to win @ 1.75 or more (8 Points)Other possible bet
Sport to win at half/time and full/time are 2.75.
Before betting it's worth checking the odds, because at the time of writing not all bookmakers have the game priced-up.
