Palmeiras – Botafogo-RJ

The Brazilian clubs are expected to be roughly equal in the derby

Before the start of the Club World Cup, bookmakers had identified nine European teams as the top 10 favourites for the tournament. However, already during the group stage Brazilian teams, to some extent, showed an advantage over their rivals from the Old World. Thus, in the 1/8 finals one of the pairs formed Palmeiras and Botafogo. Both clubs qualified for the World Cup as winners of the Libertadores Cup which is the analogue of the European Champions League in South America. The only difference is that Palmeiras won the trophy in 2021, while Botafogo is the current winner of the elite South American tournament. Palmeiras were quoted at 35.0 odds as the winner of the EHF before the draw. Part of the chances of this team for the trophy took into account the outright weakness of the group, in which the role of the favourite was supposed to play Porto, but it failed to cope with this status. Before the start of the tournament Botafogo could increase the amount of bets 50 times by winning the tournament. Now the clubs will meet in the 1/8 finals, which already emphasises the success of the Brazilian championship at the tournament. Serie A at the end of the group stage did not lose any of the four representatives. Bookmakers have identified the nominal hosts of the field as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering on their victory odds of 2.37. Palmeiras only in the last round of the group stage proved their right to participate in the play-offs. After a draw with Porto and a win at Al Ahli, the Brazilian team wrapped up the round with a meeting with Inter Miami. Despite being favourites, Palmeiras lost to the Americans by two goals until the final stretch of the game, when they managed to equalise. This allowed the Brazilians to become first in their quartet on extra time. Botafogo at the group stage managed to create the main sensation of the current tournament. Fortunately for PSG, its defeat to the club from Rio de Janeiro did not lead the Parisians to disastrous consequences. Botafogo itself secured its participation in the play-offs by 90 per cent at the end of the second round, which allowed it to lose minimally to Atletico Madrid on the last match day. As it seems, Botafogo is not weaker than the upcoming opponent.