Gremio vs Cruzeiro Prediction: Can Cruzeiro Make the Most of its Recent Away Form?

In the upcoming fixture of Copa do Brasil, Round of 16, Leg 1, Gremio will be up against Cruzeiro at the Arena do Grêmio in Porto Alegre. With the win predictor suggesting a win for the home side, the visitors will be shaping themselves to play with a robust attack and kick-off the leg 1 with an advantage. Both Gremio and Cruzeiro have won Copa do Brasil titles in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Hence, the two competing teams will be looking forward to maintaining the right combination and moving forward. From the 43 matches played between the two, Gremio leads with 20 wins, whereas Cruzeiro has won 16. This will be their very first meeting in Copa do Brasil’s history, which is a significant moment in itself. Continue reading to find out more about the upcoming matchup and the likely possible outcomes. 

Going in the matchup, Gremio is coming off a goalless draw against Fortaleza (0-0), in the recent fixture of Brazil Serie A. From the last five matches played across all competitions, Gremio has drawn three, lost one, and won a fixture. Gremio has scored 7 goals in the last five matches played, averaging 1.40 goals per game. On the other hand, Gremio has conceded 9 goals, averaging 1.80 goals per game. Hence, the conceding average is slightly greater than the scoring average, which states that Gremio will need to improve its defense. Talking about Gremio’s performance at home this season, it has managed to secure three draws in the last three home matches. When playing against Cruzeiro at home, Gremio has only lost once in the last 6 matches. 

Brenno, Rodrigo, Nata, Kannemann, Nicolas, Lucas, Thiago, Gabrille, Bitelo, Gulherme, Elkeson.

Compared to Gremio, Cruzeiro demonstrates decent match form across all competitions this season. With 4 wins and just a defeat in the last five matches played, Cruzeiro will be looking forward to winning the upcoming Copa do Brasil fixture comprehensively. In the last match against America MG (0-4), Henrique Dourado, Marlon, and Gilberto scored goals throughout the 90 minutes of play without giving any room of improvement to the hosts. Cruzeiro will be quite confident for the upcoming away fixture, as it has scored 7 and conceded 0 goals in the last 2 away matches. About the overall scoring, Cruzeiro has scored 11 and conceded only 3 goals in the last five matches, averaging 2.10 and 0.60 goals per game, respectively. 

Tadeu; Da Silva, Sidnei, Caetano, Dieguinho, C. Vinicius, Auremir, Belmonte; Elvis, Raul, Vinicius.

The two teams share a rich history of playing against each other, which makes the upcoming matchup equally important for the two competing sides. As Cruzeiro has stood fantastic in its last two away fixtures, winning in clean sheets, I am backing the visitors to win or the match to end in a draw. On the other hand, Gremio has also scored fairly and is likely to score and produce a reasonable competition. Hence, I am predicting both sides to score and the match total to be over 2.5 goals. 

• Double Chance - Draw or Cruzeiro for 1.66
• Both Teams to Score - Yes for 1.9
• Total Over 2.5 for 2.19