Deportivo Ocotal vs. Las Sabanas Pick – Nicaragua Primera Division, April 4

It’s a bottom-of-the-table clash to kick off the weekend’s games in Nicaragua, as Deportivo Ocotal takes on Las Sabanas. With just four wins between them all season, these two are by far the poorest teams in the league, but recent form might give a clue to who will come out on top here.

Ocotal finished the Apertura season off looking really good but has not been the same team since the start of the year. Las Sabanas may feel as if this is the perfect time to finally lift itself off of the bottom of the table.

BetOnline doesn’t seem to have taken recent results into account in pricing this fixture. Ocotal may have faced a few of the top sides in the league in the last few weeks, but it has still had four straight losses, and I don’t think it can shake itself out of that rut at the moment. A draw, or even a Las Sabanas win, would seem like a better value bet.

Deportivo Ocotal’s loss to Jalapa in the week continued the misery for the club from the north of the country. That’s four defeats in a row now, and if there was even a slim chance of qualifying for the playoffs, it must have just about disappeared now.

Ocotal managed a goalless draw in the reverse fixture earlier in the season but has not been able to add too many points the rest of the time. The one consolation is that the recent spate of defeats have been narrow and against clubs such as Real Esteli and Diriangen. The problem is that when there is little to play for, the heads will go down.

Las Sabanas is hardly the polar opposite of Deportivo Ocotal in terms of league position, but recent results have at least given the fans something to smile about. The win over Real Madriz in midweek was the first since the beginning of December, but that made it just one loss in the last four games.

As with Ocotal, any chance of extending its Clausura season is very remote, but a concerted effort in the last five games of the campaign could at least help the club climb off the bottom of the league and put some pressure on those above. Then Las Sabanas might like to dream about more playoff action next season.

I feel that Las Sabanas can use the impetus of the last few games to good effect here and take all three points from what seems to be a dispirited Ocotal side. The added incentive is that a win would see Las Sabanas swap places with the home side and do its chances of avoiding relegation a world of good too.

I’ve written betting previews for each of the Nicaragua Primera Division games taking place this weekend, so if you’re look for more opportunities to get some money down, please check out the following.