Palmeiras vs Vitória Prediction: Palmeiras must react to the defeat in Rio

The Verdão lost 1-0 to Fluminense at the Maracanã and dropped to third place. The Paulistas didn't expect the defeat, but the arrival of the inspirational captain, Thiago Silva, has made Fluminense a stronger team. Coach Abel Ferreira will encourage the players to react in the next game against Vitória.

It was the worst possible time to face Fluminense. The Cariocas had finally broken their long winless streak and were highly motivated. The presence of Thiago Silva gave Fluminense more confidence, and Palmeiras wasn't at full strength. For the match with Vitória, the Paulistas won't be able to count again on Murilo and Piquerez, but perhaps Estevão and Mayke could be fit after injury. However, the influential Raphael Veiga picked up his third yellow card in the league and will not play. Palmeiras hasn't lost in 20 games at the Allianz Parque. The Verdão has lost twice at home, but the defeats happened at the Arena Barueri, the club's secondary stadium.

The Baianos lost 2-1 at home to Flamengo and extended their losing streak to four consecutive games. Vitória played well and almost drew with the mighty Mengão. Flamengo opened the scoring through Arrascaeta in the 39th minute, but the Lion didn't give up and equalized in the 75th minute by Everaldo. However, a long pass in the 90th minute caught the Baianos off guard, and Carlinhos scored the winning goal for the Cariocas. Vitória is in the relegation zone and has dropped another place to 18th.

Palmeiras is the clear favorite in this game. Despite missing important players, the Verdão squad has solutions for injuries. Vitória has lost its last four matches and is low on confidence, so it would be a big surprise to get a good result at the Allianz Parque. I will go for a Correct Score of 2-0 as my highest-risk bet. As more conservative options, a Palmeiras win without conceding or a game with a maximum of two goals scored could also work.