Santos welcome fellow strugglers Goias to Vila Belmiro on Sunday afternoon as both sides aim to climb the Brazilian Serie A table.
As we head into Matchday 14, Santos occupy 14th place in the standings, while Goias find themselves in 17th place – two points shy of Santos.
⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/TdNOZUU555— Santos FC (@SantosFC) July 4, 2023
⚪️⚫️ pic.twitter.com/TdNOZUU555
While Santos sit five points outside the top 12, Goias find themselves one point inside the relegation, placing extra importance on Sunday’s clash.
Santos have managed to win just three of their 13 league encounters this year, recording four draws and six losses along the way.
It is also worth noting that Santos are the division’s joint-lowest scorers – alongside Goias – having netted 11 goals this season.
Following a 3-0 defeat to Cuiaba last weekend, Santos enter Sunday’s showdown on a 12-game winless run across all competitions, having recorded six draws and six losses since their last victory.
Worse still, Santos have failed to win any of their last four home league games, playing out back-to-back draws before suffering successive defeats.
Like Santos, Goias have also won only three of their 13 Serie A matches in 2023, although they have recorded two draws and eight losses.
As a result, no team has suffered more defeats than Goias this term, while no team has scored fewer goals, underlining their struggles.
Goias suffered a 2-1 defeat at Coritiba last time out, meaning they have lost each of their previous two league matches.
Having managed to win just one of their last seven Serie A clashes – losing four of their previous six – Goias will struggle to claim all three points on Sunday.
Head-to-head: Goias have won each of their last three league meetings with Santos, scoring seven goals while conceding five.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, both sides have claimed four victories across the previous eight Serie A encounters.
Team news: Santos look set to be without the injured quartet of Alex (thigh), Felipe Jonatan (knee), Luan Dias (muscle) and Sandry (facial) this weekend.
On the flip side, Goias have reported no injury problems ahead of Sunday’s clash. Nicolas has bagged eight goals and four assists this year, while Vinicius has notched seven goals and three assists.
It is no secret that both Santos and Goias have struggled for consistency this season, but the hosts should have enough quality to overcome the visitors.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Santos will claim all three points this weekend, scoring over 1.5 goals en route to victory.