Malacateco vs Xelaju MC Prediction: Can Xelaju Start Winning from this Point?

In the upcoming fixture of the Guatemala Liga Nacional, Clausura Matchday 18, Malacateco will be up against Xelaju MC at the Estadio Municipal Santa Lucía in Malacatán. Going in the contest, Xelaju MC holds the top spot with 9 wins and 33 points from 17 matches played. Malacateco, on the other hand, stands 11th with just 3 wins and 15 points so far in the league. The two sides last competed against each other in February 2023, and Xelaju won at home (2-1). However, since January 2022, the two sides have competed against each other on 5 occasions, and Malacateco has won thrice against Xelaju.

Going in the matchup, Deportivo Malacateco is coming off a draw against Comunicaciones FC (2-2), in which Brandon Caicedo scored back-to-back goals for Malacateco in the 15th and 46th minute of play. However, Malacateco couldn’t hold onto the lead and allowed the opposition to score an equalizer couple of minutes before the final whistle. From the last five matches played, Malacateco has won just one fixture, which was against Iztapa (1-0). Talking about the scoring, it has scored 4 goals in the last 5 matches played, averaging 0.80 goals per game. Against the scoring average, Malacateco has conceded 5 goals at an average of 1.00 goals. 

Xelaju MC will be eying to consolidate at the top of the points table and not just give the lead away as the league stage is coming to a close in the upcoming month. In the last match against Xinabajul, Xelaju secured a goalless draw (0-0), adding just a point to their tally. In the last five matches played, Xelaju has scored just 7 goals, from which 6 came against Deportivo Achuapa. Hence, it is clear that Club Xelaju has struggled with the scoring part. Secondly, Xelaju lost its last away fixture to CSD Municipal (1-0) and tied one against Iztapa (1-1). 

The two sides have similar game form in the past five matches. However, Xelaju has the advantage of table standings, which is why the equilibrium takes a shift in Xelaju’s favor. Considering the match total of previous encounters, I am expecting a win for Xelaju or the match to end in a draw. The match total was over 2.5 in 2 of the last 5 meetings between the two; hence, the upcoming match is also likely to produce a total of over 2.5 goals. The final scoreline is predicted to be 1-2.

• Double Chance - Draw or Xelaju for 1.60
• Total Over 2.5 for 2.42
• Both Teams to Score - Yes for 2.04