Vasco DA Gama vs Boca Juniors Prediction & Betting Tips

Form across a busy schedule

Vasco's last 20 matches, spanning Serie A, the Copa do Brasil and the Sudamericana, read 9 wins, 6 draws and 5 losses, with 27 goals scored and 17 conceded. That's a side that can score goals but has also had some rough afternoons, including a 5-0 thumping of Coritiba alongside heavier losses to Santos and Olimpia.

Vasco DA Gama: 20 completed matches; Boca Juniors: 20 completed matches.

Vasco DA Gama

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

30% 6 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

27

Conceded

17

Difference

+10

Boca Juniors

20 matches

Win

50% 10 / 20

Draw

35% 7 / 20

Loss

15% 3 / 20

Scored

27

Conceded

15

Difference

+12

Boca's equivalent sample across the Liga Profesional, Sudamericana, Copa Argentina and a friendly shows 10 wins, 7 draws and just 3 losses, scoring 27 and conceding 15. They've been slightly tighter at the back than Vasco, though a 0-4 defeat away to Deportivo Recoleta shows they're not immune to bad nights either.

Both sides are averaging just over a goal and a quarter a game scored, so goals from either end wouldn't be a shock.

Comparative Team Statistics: Vasco DA Gama vs Boca Juniors

Where Vasco currently sit

The only table we've got covers Vasco alone: second place from 6 games, with 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, 10 goals for and 6 against, for 10 points. It's a decent return, though it's a small sample and we don't have Boca's equivalent standing to compare it against.

Names carrying the goal threat

Adson has been Vasco's main source of goals and creativity, with 4 goals and 3 assists in 9 matches. J. Rodríguez and Nuno Moreira have also chipped in with assists, so the service isn't reliant on one player alone.

Vasco DA Gama:

Best scorers:

Adson - 4

Best assist providers:

Adson - 3

J. Rodríguez - 3

Nuno Moreira - 2

Penalty cards:

C. Cuesta x 1 x 1

Boca Juniors:

Best scorers:

M. Merentiel - 3

For Boca, Merentiel leads the scoring charts with 3 goals in just 6 matches, a decent return for his minutes. Worth flagging too that Cuesta has picked up a yellow and a red in 7 games, so his discipline is one to keep an eye on, though we can't say from this alone whether he's available for this specific fixture.

How it might play out

Both sides have shown they can put goals together but also concede in bunches. Vasco have shipped heavy defeats to both Santos and Olimpia this stretch, while Boca's only really bad result was that four-goal loss in Paraguay. Neither has looked watertight defensively over the sample.

Given both attacks have been reasonably productive and neither defence has been flawless, an open, back-and-forth game wouldn't be surprising, though continental fixtures like this can just as easily turn cagey depending on how each side rotates.