The Serie A meeting at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos on Thursday will see home side Botafogo go into battle with Santos.
Our Botafogo v Santos predictions, statistics and match poll can be seen below - as well as the best betting odds.
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Form Guide
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Botafogo
LWWDWL
Botafogo won’t want a repeat of their last result here after the 2-1 Serie A defeat last time out to Bahia.
In that game, Botafogo had 31% possession and 13 attempts at goal with 6 of them on target. For Botafogo, the goalscorers were Huguinho (7') and Nahuel Ferraresi (57' Own goal). Bahia got 24 shots on goal with 9 of them on target. Duarte (92') scored for Bahia.
It’s been all too rare in recent games where Botafogo have managed to hold out for a full 90 minutes. It will be a concern for them that Botafogo have been scored against in 5 of their previous 6 matches, shipping 7 goals during that time.
Heading into this fixture, Botafogo have not lost a league tie with Santos in their previous 5 matches.
Santos
WLDLWW
Santos head into the clash following a 3-1 Serie A win in the defeat of Vitoria in their most recent outing.
In that match, Santos had 44% possession and 5 attempts at goal with 4 on target. For Santos, the goalscorers were Miguel Terceros (19'), Álvaro Barreal (54') and Barbosa (56'). For their opponents, Vitoria got 22 shots at goal with 9 of them on target. Renê (74') scored for Vitoria.
Showing their bias toward high-scoring encounters, goals have been scored 21 times in the prior six games in which Santos have taken to the pitch, giving an average of 3.5 goals for each fixture. Their opponents have managed 9 of this grand total. We will see whether or not that trend will end up being continued on here.
Looking at the pre-match facts, Santos:
- have not beaten Botafogo in games played away from home for the previous 4 league games. They really have not been travelling well at all.
- remain undefeated by Botafogo when having played them away from home in the previous 2 matches in the league.
- haven’t won away from home in the past 8 league matches. A poor run.
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Head to head
Looking at their most recent head to head clashes stretching back to 21/07/2022 shows that Botafogo have won 2 of them and Santos 1, with the number of drawn matches being 3.
An aggregate of 16 goals were scored between the two sides throughout the course of those matches, with 9 from Fogão and 7 coming from Peixe. That’s an average goals per game of 2.67.
The last league encounter between the two was Serie A match day 30 on 26/10/2025 when it ended Botafogo 2-2 Santos.
In that match, Botafogo managed 55% possession and 18 attempts on goal with 9 on target. Their only player on the scoresheet was Joaquín Correa (1', 39').
For their opponents, Santos had 9 attempts on goal with 7 on target. Souza (26') and Álvaro Barreal (70') scored.
The match was refereed by Rodrigo Jose Pereira de Lima.
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Team News: Botafogo
Júnior Santos (Foot injury), Kaio (Knee problems), Bastos (Muscle injury), Allan (Torn thigh muscle) and Nathan Fernandes (Inflammation of ligaments in the knee) aren’t available for Botafogo boss Franclim Carvalho. Álvaro Montoro is ineligible for this match because of suspension.
In our view, Fogão may well employ a 4-2-3-1 system for this game, utilising Raul Steffens, Vitinho, Nahuel Ferraresi, Gabriel Justino, Alex Telles, Cristian Medina, Huguinho, Lucas Villalba, Jordan Barrera, Matheus Martins and Arthur Cabral.
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Team News: Santos
Santos manager Cuca Stival has to choose a team with limited availability. Thaciano (Hamstring injury), Vinicius Lira (Cruciate ligament injury), Alexis Duarte (Cruciate ligament injury) and João Schmidt (Hamstring injury) are not ready for selection. Gabriel Barbosa cannot play in this game through suspension.
There’s a good chance that Peixe seem most likely to make use of a 4-2-3-1 formation, choosing Gabriel Brazão, Gabriel Menino, Lucas Verissimo, Luan Peres, Gonzalo Escobar, Willian Arao, Gustavo Henrique, Benjamín Rollheiser, Miguel Terceros, Alvaro Barreal and Rony.
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Prediction
Our thinking is that Santos have enough to find the back of the net against this Botafogo team, however it possibly won’t quite be as many as the goals that they could concede.
We reckon that it will be a narrow 2-1 victory for Botafogo by the conclusion of the game. Let’s just see how this one goes.
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⚽️ What are the top odds for the game?
Turning to the betting odds in the WDW market, backing Botafogo is available for 1.96, a wager on the draw is 3.6 and taking a punt on a victory for Santos is 3.6. These are the best prices that can be secured right now.
Renata Leite,
16:04 12/07/2026
Odds correct at time of publishing. All odds subject to change.
🏟️ Team Focus:
Botafogo
Formed: 1904
Stadium: Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos (46,831)
Captain: Alexander Barboza
Chairman: João Paulo Magalhães
Manager: Franclim Carvalho
Competitions: Serie A position 12, Copa Sudamericana (Round of 16)
⭐ Key Man: Martins
Usually played in the Left Wing position, Martins was born in Campo Grande, Brazil. Having made his senior debut playing for Fluminense in the 2021 season, the skilful Forward has got 4 league goals in the Série A 2026 season so far in 15 appearances.