Fluminense vs Bangu Prediction: The Copa Libertadores winner is the clear favorite

Fluminense leads the Copa Guanabara, the first stage of the Campeonato Carioca, with ten points from four games. The Tricolor team playing is still far from the base line-up for this season. Participation in the World Club Cup has delayed the resumption of work by the key players, who have yet to play an official match this campaign. Still, even with second choices, the Copa Libertadores champion is the favorite.

In the last round, the Tricolor had no trouble to beat Nova Iguaçu 3-0 at home. The match was also marked by the debuts of international veteran Renato Augusto, signed from Corinthians, and Gabriel Pires, who played for Botafogo last year on loan from Benfica. They are two midfielders with excellent passing ability, something Fernando Diniz likes a lot. Fluminense is expected to win against penultimate-placed Bangu.The reserve players must take advantage of these early rounds of the Carioca to show their worth, so they certainly won't make it easy.

The Factory Team was involved in the most controversial game of the Campeonato Carioca so far. In the last round, Bangu and Vasco da Gama drew 2-2 in a match that saw two red cards, one of them after 4 minutes for a Vasco player, and two goals after the clock had gone past 100 minutes, one of them a dubious penalty. With that penalty, Bangu tied the match. The fact is that after this match, it was decided to use VAR in all fixtures involving Rio's big clubs from Round 6 onwards. The result turned out to be positive for the Beaver, which picked up its first point in the competition.

Fluminense's victory is the result widely expected by all bookmakers, and that's why the odds are low. The Tricolor's reserve players have shown great determination and talent in these early rounds of the Carioca, while the team's stars haven't arrived. My bet carries some risk, as the odds are much higher than a simple win for the home team. I will bet on a Fluminense victory by 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0.