Palmeiras vs. Fluminense – Brazilian Serie A, November 14, 2020

Sixth-place Palmeiras heads into Matchday 21 on a three-game winning streak in Brazil’s Serie A, hoping to leapfrog fifth-place Fluminense in the standings.

The two sides clash at Allianz Parque on Saturday, November 14, with both teams in good form.

I assess the bookmakers’ odds before giving my Palmeiras vs. Fluminense pick.

As you can see, 10bet views Palmeiras (1.76) as the clear favorite to win this matchup. However, Fluminense (4.65) has only lost one of their last nine games and currently sits one point ahead of Saturday’s opponent in the table.

Having enjoyed such a promising run of late, Odair Hellmann’s side will surely be confident of snatching a draw (3.40).

Four straight defeats saw Palmeiras plummet down the Serie A standings last month. Abel Ferreira’s men only managed to score two goals during their barren run, firing blanks in 2-0 losses to Sao Paulo and Fortaleza.

It’s fair to say that things were looking pretty bleak for the Big Green. But Palmeiras has recently enjoyed a dramatic change in fortunes.

Ferreira’s side heads into Saturday’s clash having won each of their last six games in all competitions. The team’s upturn began with a 5-0 Copa Libertadores thrashing of Tigre, with three Serie A victories following soon after. Palmeiras also claimed two wins over Bragantino in the Copa da Brasil along the way.

Better still, the Big Green has kept three consecutive clean sheets in Serie A and has achieved five shutouts in their last six outings in all competitions.

Luiz Adriano has netted three goals in his last three league appearances, while Wesley has bagged two in his previous two outings. But at the other end of the pitch, Ferreira’s backline must also be given huge credit for the team’s recent turnaround.

Fluminense’s eight-game unbeaten streak was finally brought to an end by Gremio last weekend. An impressive run of five wins and three draws has kept the Rio de Janeiro outfit battling at the top end of the table, but all good things must come to an end, right?

In fairness, Hellmann’s men can count themselves pretty unfortunate to have come away without anything to show for their efforts last time out. Fluminense enjoyed 61% possession and racked up 12 shots against Gremio, yet they eventually lost 1-0.

Fluminense managed to hold Palmeiras to a 1-1 draw when the two sides met at the beginning of the season. But a lot has changed since then.

If Hellmann’s men are to get anything from Saturday’s clash, they will need to tighten things up at the back. Fluminense has only kept two clean sheets in their last eight matches, so Palmeiras’ free-flowing forward line is likely to expose their leaky defense.

Don’t get me wrong, Fluminense has been playing some top-quality soccer of late. The Rio club has done well to turn their season around, but I can’t see Hellmann’s side returning to winning ways this weekend.

Palmeiras is on a seemingly unstoppable six-game winning streak right now, while their backline has been impenetrable in recent weeks. I’m backing the home side to claim all three points on Saturday.