Cruzeiro vs Botafogo RJ prediction 04.12.2025 | Serie A

Cruzeiro are one of the rare teams that doesn't have too much to fight for in the final two league rounds. They lost all chances of winning the championship title and will finish second or third, which doesn't make much difference. The team from Belo Horizonte wasn't at their best in their recent matches, as they have one win and three draws in their previous four games. In the most recent outing, Cruzeiro played 1-1 on the road against Ceara. The teams were pretty even throughout the match and splitting points was probably the fairest outcome. 

The season is close to the end, and there is a lot of speculation about whether Leonardo Jardim will remain Cruzeiro's head coach. The Portuguese has a contract until the end of 2026, but he recently received offers from the United Arab Emirates. 

Lucas Silva and Gabriel Barbosa are suspended and will not play on Thursday against Botafogo RJ. Cruzeiro will also be without injured Janderson, Marquinhos, and Wanderson. 

Botafogo RJ failed to defend the Serie A title, but if they secure the Copa Libertadores group phase, the 2025 season could still be considered successful. Botafogo RJ are only one point ahead of Fluminense and two ahead of Bahia, so every point could be important in the final two league rounds. Davide Ancelotti's team are undefeated in the last eight matches. In the previous game, they played 2-2 on the road against Corinthians. The home side ended with xG of 2.02, while the guests had only 0.60, so Botafogo RJ were fortunate to avoid defeat.

Botafogo RJ's head coach, Davide Ancelotti, was partially pleased with a draw against Corinthians. He said, "This consistency is what we need to strive for. We're currently in fifth place and closer to our goal. I think we defended with a lot of commitment today; we made some small mistakes that we paid dearly for. Offensively, we got the idea a bit wrong in the first half; we played too much through the middle. In the second half, we switched the flanks a lot, and we improved."

Botafogo RJ have huge problems with missing players. They will be without Alexander Barboza, Bastos, Danilo, Jeffinho, Kaio, Matheus Martins, Nathan Fernandes, Neto, Mateo Ponte, and Santiago Rodriguez on Thursday in Belo Horizonte. Also, Alvaro Montoro, Christopher Ramos, and Jefferson Savarino are questionable.