This weekend, in Brazil’s Serie A, a fixture of the 30th round will take place. The clash Fortaleza vs Cruzeiro will be played on Saturday at 22:30 CET. Thus, the twelfth and the fourth-last team in Brazil’s Serie A table will face each other at the Estádio Governador Plácido Aderaldo Castelo. The Leão do Pici and Raposa collected 43 and 37 points respectively.
What speaks for Fortaleza?
- Won four of their five league home matches from mid-August to early October.
What speaks for Cruzeiro?
- Their opponents collected a total of one point in their last six league games.
Our betting prediction:
- Prediction: Fortaleza
- Odds: 1.95
Expert analysis Fortaleza
The home side in the Serie A match Fortaleza vs Cruzeiro lost 1-2 at the ninth-placed Cuiabá on Sunday. This marked the Leão do Pici’s fifth defeat in six winless league fixtures. A 1-1 at the seventh-ranked Athletico Paranaense constituted the exception. However, Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s team played five away matches during this negative streak. In their only home game, on 5 November, Fortaleza lost 0-2 to the sixth-placed Flamengo.
Previously, the twelfth-placed team in Brazil’s Serie A table from mid-August to early October achieved at the Estádio Governador Plácido Aderaldo Castelo four victories and a 1-1 against the third-placed Grêmio. Before the points division, Leão do Pici had beaten the 14th-placed Santos 4-0, the penultimate-ranked Coritiba 3-1 and the eleventh-placed Corinthians 2-1. Then, on 8 October, Fortaleza defeated the bottom-placed America MG 2-1.
Expert analysis Cruzeiro
This will be Cruzeiro’s first appearance in Brazil’s Serie A since the sacking of Zé Ricardo on Sunday. The former centre-back had replaced Pepa at the beginning of September. The Portuguese had been on the sidelines from mid-March until the end of August. Now, Paulo Autuori acts as the interim coach.
In the last game under Zé Ricardo, Cruzeiro lost 0-1 at Coritiba on Saturday. This represented the Raposa’s fifth defeat in nine league matches and their third in a row. Additionally, the team from Belo Horizonte won twice in this phase. They did so at the end of October with a 1-0 at the fifth-placed Atletico-MG and with a 3-0 against the fifth-bottom Bahia. Previously, from the end of September, they had recorded a 0-1 at the eighth-placed Fluminense, a 1-1 against America MG, a 0-0 at Cuiabá and a 0-2 against Flamengo. November began with a 0-1 at the tenth-ranked São Paulo FC and a 1-2 against the 13th-placed Internacional.
Head-to-head comparison Fortaleza vs Cruzeiro
The first clash Fortaleza vs Cruzeiro in Brazil’s Serie A 2023 took place on 22 June. Here, the Leão do Pici experienced a 1-1 at the Raposa. Previously, Fortaleza achieved in the Serie A 2019 against Cruzeiro a 2-1 home win and a goalless away draw.
Our betting prediction and the best odds
On Sunday, the home side in the Serie A match Fortaleza vs Cruzeiro lost 1-2 at the ninth-placed Cuiabá. This represented the fifth defeat in six league matches for Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s side. However, they played five away fixtures during this phase. Furthermore, from mid-August to the beginning of October, they achieved at home four wins and a 1-1 draw against the third-placed Grêmio. Cruzeiro suffered on Saturday a 0-1 at Coritiba. It was the third defeat in a row and the fifth in nine championship matches. As a result, the club management centred around Ronaldo sacked Zé Ricardo and appointed Paulo Autuori as interim coach. However, we think that Fortaleza will return to winning ways in front of their fans and against the underperforming Raposa.
Fortaleza vs Cruzeiro — betting prediction: Fortaleza, odds 1.95
