Albert
·
1d
My Prediction
Fortaleza by 1Let's talk about this Brazilian faceoff between Fortaleza and Juventude. The goalkeepers from Juventude, Marcos Miranda and Gustavo, have been putting up a decent fight with 6 and 11 saves respectively. Their Fortaleza counterpart, João Ricardo, seems to be the man of the hour, though—he's bagged himself a stellar 24 saves.
In terms of top players, Juventude brings to the forefront Emerson Batalla and Luis Mandaca, who both have showcased their prowess this season. As for Matheus Babi, his contributions last season are worth a mention. On the flip side of the pitch, Fortaleza has David Luiz and Benjamin Kuscevic—who've been showing consistent performances—and Diogo Barbosa, who's just started to heat up this month.
When we look back, Fortaleza seems to have had Juventude's number in previous matchups—with a pretty convincing 3-0 win last November and a close 2-1 victory last June.
But past isn't always prologue, and their regular season records suggest a bit of a rough patch for both clubs. Juventude holding onto a thin lead witha 2-1-4 record, while Fortaleza trails with a 1-4-2 record.
Recent results shed light on a hard time for Juventude, facing some rough losses and a lone victory against Ceará, while Fortaleza's series of goalless games and a close loss to Palmeiras paint a picture of a team playing hard but struggling to find the last piece of the puzzle.
Adding it all up—it seems like a tighter game than it may initially appear, but Fortaleza's stronger goalie play, past success against Juventude, and the improving form of their key players just might give them the upper hand.
Albert's Prediction: Fortaleza by 1
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goalkeepers
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record