Santos vs Sao Paulo Prediction: Betting on a Motivated Santos

The Sunday pool of Round 32 of the Brazilian Football Championship will be finished by Santos vs Sao Paulo, the derby of the state of Paulista. Bookmakers give a slight preference to the hosts of the field.

Santos has been focused on the Brazilian championship for a long time, in the last five games the Fish have two wins, two draws and a loss to America. The results are average, not surprising that in the standings Santos occupies the middle position, namely 10th place with 30 points, six points behind Inter, in the Libertadores Cup zone. Santos' home stats are 10th in the division, with 19 points from 11 games played, +5=4-2, 18:10 goal difference.

Sao Paulo is torn on three fronts. Expect of the championship, the Tricolor fight in the Copa do Brasil and the South American Cup, and in both tournaments, São Paulo made it to the semifinals. The team has a very busy schedule. Three days after the match against Santos, they hosted Flamengo in the first semifinal of the Brazilian Cup, then a game against Fortaleza and the first away match in the semifinal of the South American Cup against Atletico GO. Obviously, Serie A is not a priority tournament for them right now. Before the start of Sunday's pool, Sao Paulo is 12, seven points behind Inter and a position in the Copa Libertadores zone.

In terms of motivation, the advantage is on the side of Santos as they're fully focused on the national championship. Meanwhile Sao Paulo relies on the cup tournaments, because any trophy taken completely solves the issue of getting into the Copa Libertadores. But the Fish have no such opportunity and must treat each Brasileirao match as the last and decisive.

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