The Estádio Municipal José Batista Pereira Fernandes in Diadema hosts the match of the eighth round of the Paulista A1 Championship, featuring Agua Santa and Palmeiras. The home team is looking for crucial points to move away from the penultimate position in the single group, which, if the season were to end today, would condemn them to relegation to the second division. So far, Agua Santa has earned only 4 points, and looking at the situation in Group C, it seems unlikely they will reach second place, currently occupied by Novorizontino with 10 points. The goal is clear: earn points to avoid relegation. A different path for Palmeiras, who sit in second place in Group D with 12 points, the same as Ponte Preta, but with a worse goal difference. They are currently 4 points behind the group leader, São Bernardo, a gap they can reduce with a win in this trip to Diadema. Verdão, who sold Vitor Reis to Manchester City for €37 million in the January transfer window, are seeking their fourth consecutive positive result to strengthen their position in the standings and approach the final four games of the first phase of Paulista A1 with optimism.

Agua Santa's shape and key statistics

Agua Santa arrives at this crucial match after losing their last two league matches against Guarani (4-0) and Ponte Preta (1-0). In their last 5 matches, Pintado’s team has recorded 1 win, 1 draw, and 3 losses, with an average of 1 goal scored and 1.6 goals conceded per game.

The record for the first 7 rounds of Paulista A1 shows: 1 win, 1 draw, and 5 losses. The only victory was on January 25, when they beat Bragantino 3-0 at home. Agua Santa has the worst defense in the league, conceding 16 goals, which averages out to 2.28 per match.

Palmeiras' shape and key statistics

In their last match, Palmeiras earned a valuable point in a big match against Corinthians, the leader of the single group. So far, Verdão has won 3 matches, drawn 3, and lost 1, the latter against Novorizontino.

Away from home, they have been unbeaten for 6 games and have remained unbeaten in 37 of their last 40 official Paulista A1 matches. In this competition, Palmeiras averages 1.57 goals scored and 0.86 conceded per match. Ferreira’s team has the second-best defense in the tournament, conceding only 6 goals in 7 games.

Agua Santa vs Palmeiras Prediction and Tactical Overview

Given the standings of the two teams, it is highly likely that Palmeiras will have no trouble securing the three points, achieving their fourth win of the season. It is also worth noting that Verdão remains unbeaten away from home and has scored an average of more than 2 goals per match on the road.

Agua Santa has already lost twice this year at home and has the worst defense in the tournament. In the last 5 head-to-head encounters, the record shows 4 victories for Palmeiras and 1 for Agua Santa. For these reasons, BetMines’ algorithm predicts a clear victory for the visitors in Agua Santa - Palmeiras. 

• The BetMines forecast  prediction for the Agua Santa - Palmeiras match predicts the 1 sign at 15%
• The BetMines forecast  prediction for the Agua Santa - Palmeiras match predicts the X sign at 23%
• The BetMines forecast  prediction for the Agua Santa - Palmeiras match predicts the 2 sign at 62%

Agua Santa - Palmeiras Predicted Lineups

Agua Santa (4-4-1-1): Ygor Vinhas; Diogo Batista, Fabio Sanches, Rafael Vaz, Robies Fuentes; Wesley Dias, Guilherme Lazaroni, Netinho, Neilton; Luan Dias; Ademilson. Coach: Pintado

Palmeiras (4-2-3-1): Weverton; Mayke, Gomez, Murilo, Piquerez; Rios, Naves; Estevão, Raphael Veiga, Torres; Mauricio. Coach: Ferreira