Botafogo will host Palmeiras at the Estádio Nilton Santos on Wednesday in the first leg of their 2024 Copa Libertadores last-16 clash. The home side have hit a rough patch in the league of late and will now hope they can find better luck on the continental stage this week.
They endured a slow start to their Copa Libertadores campaign, suffering defeats to Junior Barranquilla and LDU in their first two group games. However, they bounced back from that superbly, picking up three wins and a draw in their subsequent four matches to secure a second-place finish in their group.
Palmeiras have also failed to impress in their domestic assignments of late and will be desperate to mark their return to competitive action on a high. They played out a 1-1 draw against Flamengo in their last league outing and had looked set to be headed toward defeat before Luighi came off the bench to score a late leveler.
The visitors faced Atletico Mineiro at this stage of the competition last season, winning the two-legged clash 1-0 on aggregate and will hope they can find similar luck here as well.
Botafogo vs Palmeiras Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 72 meetings between Botafogo and Palmeiras. The hosts have won 20 of those games while the visitors have won 31 times. There have been 21 draws between the two teams.
- The hosts have won two of their last three games in this fixture after winning just one of their 11 games prior.
- The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last four games in this fixture.
- Botafogo are the highest-scoring side in the Brazilian top-flight this season with a goal tally of 37.
Botafogo vs Palmeiras Prediction
Botafogo are on a run of back-to-back defeats after losing just one of their previous 11 outings. They have, however, lost just one of their last nine home matches and will head into the midweek clash as slight favorites.
Palmeiras are on a three-game unbeaten streak, although they have won just two of their last eight games across all competitions. They are without a win in their last seven games on the road and could see defeat here.
Prediction: Botafogo 2-1 Palmeiras
Botafogo vs Palmeiras Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Botafogo to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Three of the last four matches between the two teams at the Estádio Nilton Santos have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in three of their last four matchups at the Estádio Nilton Santos)