Santa Cruz vs Náutico – Preview, Prediction and Betting Tips 27/01/2024

Santa Cruz and Náutico face each other this Saturday afternoon, January 27, 2024, starting at 4:30 pm, in a game valid for the 5th round of the first division of the Pernambucano Championship. The duel will be played at the Arruda stadium, in the city of Recife, in Pernambuco.

Santa Cruz

The Santa Cruz team started its season in a disappointing way, suffering an early elimination in the qualifications for the Copa do Nordeste, falling to Altos, in Piauí territory, after a draw in regulation time and a setback in penalty kicks.

However, Tricolor managed to score two consecutive victories in the state, which ended up alleviating the pressure it had been under until then, but its most recent duel once again aroused the distrust of its fans.

This is because Santinha’s team faced Sport in their first classic of the season and ended up getting the worst of it by losing 2-1 on Ilha do Retiro to the red and black team.

The result left them in fourth place on the Pernambuco elite leaderboard, with 6 points won so far, needing to win again to keep up with the pace of the front group.

In their 5 most recent clashes there were 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat. During this period, the tricolor team beat Maguary and Flamengo Arcoverde, drew with Altos-PI and also with Treze, in addition to losing to Sport.

Acting as home team, the Santa Cruz team recorded a recent campaign with 7 wins, 3 draws and no defeats in the last 10 matches played.

Náutico

Náutico, on the other hand, arrives for this Pernambuco classic with a lot of rivalry to try to surprise away from home, but does not expect to have an easy life against Santa Cruz

However, Timbu boasts an unbeaten record in the competition after four matches played, but it is also worth noting that the team showed a certain drop in performance in the most recent duels, recording two draws in a row.

In the last round, the black and white team faced Central away from home and had to settle for a 2-2 draw in a very busy match.

The result left them in second place on the state elite classification table, with 8 points achieved so far, two above their current opponent.

There were 2 wins, 3 draws and no defeats in the last 5 official matches. During this period they beat Flamengo Arcoverde and Afogados da Ingazeira, in addition to drawing with São Bernardo, Maguary and also Central.

Playing as a visitor, the Náutico team had a recent performance with only 2 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats in the last 10 matches played.

Conclusion:

With no big favorite to win this classic, the duel between Santa Cruz and Náutico puts two strong candidates for the Pernambuco title face to face and tends to be quite truncated, in a scenario that favors a bet on the under goals market.