Brazilian Serie A league leaders Palmeiras kick off midweek play at home against Avai. Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has led Palmeiras to 22 points out of a possible 24.
The Big Green have been brilliant in front of goal in the early stages of the season tallying a league leading 16 goals. Palmeiras average 2.0 goals per game in a league that has seen 2.34 scores per match.
Avai will be out to spoil Palmeiras’ title charge. The league’s bottom club will have their hands full but there are signs Avai are improving. Despite gaining just four points from their first 24, Avai secured a nil-nil draw against Sao Paulo at the weekend.
Goals have been in short supply for Avai as they have scored just four times. Defensively, Avai have been good conceding a mere nine times. Although they sit at the foot of the table, Avai’s defence has kept them within touching distance of safety.
Manager Geninho has seen his Avai squad unable to adjust to Serie A’s level of play in the early going. Avai finished third in Serie B last term and are still struggling to come to grips with the top flight’s defences.
Palmeiras have the potential to run riot against Avai. Palmeiras have posted a 6W-1D-0L record in their last seven home matches against Avai.
Bruno Henrique and Raphael Veiga have both tallied three goals this season in the league. Meanwhile, four other players have chipped in with two goals apiece. Scolari has got scoring from different players making Palmeiras multi-dimensional.
Palmeiras has tallied nine goals at the Allianz Parque. Five of those goals have come in the second half with 18.75% of those goals coming in the last 15 minutes of games.
Three of Palmeiras’ eight matches this season have finished in over 2.5 goals scored. Two of those three fixtures came against teams currently in 14th place or lower in the Serie A table.
Avai can boast a victory over Palmeiras in their most recent meeting. That game came back in 2017 in Serie A as Avai won 2-1 at home. The teams failed to score in the first half but exploded for three goals in the final 45 minutes.
A similar scoreline will be accumulated when Palmeiras host Avai in midweek, however, the hosts will continue their dominance at the Alliaz Parque over the visitors.
Forebet predicts that Palmeiras will win once more as the two teams combine for over 2.5 goals.