Brazil vs Costa Rica FIFA World Cup 2018 – Lineups, Predictions & Stats Preview 22 June 2018
Brazil are going into Matchday 2 with all they have got in order to save themselves a spot in the Round of 16. After the disappointing draw with Switzerland, Neymar and his teammates must bring their A game against what seems to be a mediocre team of Costa Rica.
Brazil Probable Lineups and Stats
Brazil’s line up for their second group match against Costa Rica is expected to be largely unchanged on the team that played against Switzerland. However, doubt remains over the fitness of star player Neymar who did not take part in training earlier this week after problems with an ankle injury. Brazil did not get off to the best of starts in the 2018 World Cup, drawing their opening match 1-1 with Switzerland. Match statistics suggest that Brazil were much the better side. They enjoyed 55% of overall ball possession in the game, managing a total of 21 shots compared to just 6 for Switzerland. Of these 21 shots, 5 were on target against just 2 for their opponents who played a largely defensive game. Brazil were also the cleaner side, committing just 11 fouls over the full ninety minutes compared to 19 by the Swiss team.Costa Rica Probable Lineups and Stats
Costa Rica appear to have emerged from their opening group match with Serbia with no injury concerns and are therefore also expected to field a largely unchanged side against Brazil on Friday. Former Fulham midfielder Bryan Ruiz will remain the team captain, his second consecutive World Cup finals in that role. Costa Rica lost their opening group game to Serbia by a goal to nil, although statistics for this game show the teams to have been more evenly matched than in the Brazil v Switzerland fixture. Costa Rica narrowly edged overall ball possession by 52 to 48% and both teams registered a low 10 shots throughout the entire game just three of which were on target for each side. The match was a relatively even-tempered affair with 18 fouls committed by Costa Rica against 15 by Serbia.
Brazil v Costa Rica – Head to Head
There have only been ten previous football matches between Brazil and Costa Rica and the two teams have not now played against each other since a friendly match in 2015 which was won 1-0 by Brazil. The sides have not met in a competitive fixture since the 2014 Copa America which saw another Brazil victory, this time by 4 goals to 1. Costa Rica have not managed to defeat Brazil since a 3-0 win in the Panamerican Championship in 1960. There have been no score or no-score draws in any meeting between the two teams.Expert Tip
According to the bookies, the absolute favourite in this amazing contest is the Brazilian team and we agree with their choice, not to mention that Brazil is also one of the major favourites to win the 2018 World Cup. Usually, both Brazil and Costa Rica are playing very offensive football and we think that will result in a high final score. We are expecting a huge battle between these two teams, so we will go for a Both teams to score. Also, we expect a clean game that will not result in many fouls on the pitch and this will result in fewer bookings.Interesting Facts and Information
- Costa Rica haven’t won any of their last 5 games against Brazil.
- Brazil haven’t lost in their last 12 games.
- Costa Rica have lost 3 games in a row.
- The most common result of matches between Brazil and Costa Rica is 1-0. 3 games have ended with this result.
- Brazil wins 1st half in 45% of their games, Costa Rica in 35% of their games.
- Brazil’s recent performance is better than Costa Rica’s.
- In World Cup, Brazil has better performance than Costa Rica.
- Brazil scores 2.4 goals in a match against Costa Rica and Costa Rica scores 0.6 goals against Brazil (on average).
- Brazil scores 2 goals when playing at home and Costa Rica scores 0.67 goals when playing away (on average).
- The average number of goals in meetings between Brazil and Costa Rica is 3.
- When Brazil leads 1-0 at home, they win in 75% of their games.
- When Costa Rica leads 0-1 away, they win in 60% of their games.
- When Costa Rica is down 1-0 away, they win 0% of their games.
- The average number of goals in the first half in meetings between Brazil and Costa Rica is 1.4.
- Brazil have scored at least one goal for 5 consecutive games.
BEST WORLD CUP BOOKMAKERS
£30
World Cup Bonus
Generous bonus offers
Various betting options
Rich range of sports to bet on
£20
World Cup Bonus
Vast Array of Betting Options & High Odds
Attractive Sports Betting Bonus
Great Number of Different Betting Options
£20
World Cup Bonus
Fantastic risk-free first bet bonus
Rich list of events available on Live Streaming
App for Android and iOS
