Market: Over 1.5 goals
Odds: 4/7 @
In what could prove to be a crucial showdown at the foot of the Serie B standings, Londrina will welcome Ituano to the Estadio do Cafe late on Thursday night.
Starting with the hosts, while Londrina might have opened up the 2023 campaign with their sights set on mounting a genuine promotion charge, the Sharks are in the midst of a major Serie B struggle. Last seen over the weekend putting in another nightmare display as they slumped to a 3-1 drumming at the hands of Ceara, Eduardo Souza’s men are now sat seven points adrift in the drop zone and tipped as a leading relegation contender. Despite claiming a much-needed 2-0 victory against Vitoria last month, it appears that was nothing more than a minor boost for the second-tier strugglers. In fact, Thursday’s hosts have landed just a single Serie B win from any of their last 10 straight appearances a run that stems all the way back to July 15th. With their extended blip underlined by a routine 2-0 loss at home against Atletico GO on August 17th, Souza will also have a mounting headache over his side’s rather glaring issues at the back. Shipping nine strikes on their five-match winless run, Londrina face what is a must-win showdown here.
As for the visitors, although Ituano might have signed off August with back-to-back victories against Criciuma and Sport Recife, Gilmar Dal Pozzo’s side have come crashing back down over the past fortnight. Last seen over the weekend getting hit with a 2-1 loss at home against Vila Nova, some in their camp could still be looking over their shoulder at a potential relegation scrap. However, despite suffering back-to-back Serie B defeats for the first time since the middle of July, Pozzo’s side should be boosted by a stellar record against Thursday’s opponents. Putting in a rampant performance at the Novelli Junior back on May 27th as they cruised their way to a 3-1 romp, Ituano have lost just one of their previous six meetings against the second-tier strugglers. It should also be noted, with the Railroad seeing each of their last six Serie B showdowns finish with over 1.5 goals, a similar outcome can be found at appealing odds here.
Bet: Over 1.5 goals at Londrina vs Ituano 4/7 for Thursday s Brazil Serie B matchup @
