Why Bolivar are a great price to beat Brazilian giants Palmeiras

Bolívar face Palmeiras at home in the Copa Libertadores group stage on Thursday evening and our expert Nathan Joyes believes they can claim another historic win over the Brazilians.

Bolivian champions Bolivar have won 12 home matches in a row and their close to evens price to beat a rotated Palmeiras side looks too good to ignore. Find out why.

Palmeiras to suffer in La Paz

By now, most will be aware that playing in La Paz is no picnic. Sitting 3,650m above sea level, the high altitude favours the hosts who are used to the extreme conditions where there is a lack of oxygen. In Brazil, there is no altitude whatsoever and this is why teams do not enjoy their trips to Bolivia.

In 2023, Abel Ferreira sent a reserve side to face Bolivar in the opening round of the Copa Libertadores group stage – where they fell to a 3-1 defeat. With five other games to play, the Portuguese head coach was happy to sacrifice a match he knew he would unlikely win.

And although Ferreira hasn’t announced a reserve/youth side this time round, there have been several reports from top journalists that fringe players will be fielded in La Paz as Palmeiras face Bahia three days later, before Ceara in the Copa do Brasil six days after this match. Ferreira has little choice but to prioritise other fixtures.

But it’s not just the conditions and rotations in Bolivar’s favour. At home, they are in fantastic form. The City Group owned club have won 12 in a row, including a 3-0 win against Sporting Cristal in the Libertadores.

Ramiro Vaca has four goals and five assists to his name from his last six matches, while Brazilian forward has 11 goals in just 12 matches across all competitions in 2025. If you’re looking for a goalscorer bet, both of these players offer plenty of value – perhaps more so Gomes, who is Bolivar’s dedicated penalty taker.

Their high press will force Palmeiras into errors, and expect plenty of long range efforts from the hosts, who will try to catch out their goalkeeper with balls that move like nowhere else in the world when in flight.

Ferreira must prioritise other fixtures

As mentioned, Ferreira is facing the usual hectic schedule at the start of the campaign – and he must prioritse players’ health and fitness ahead of this unique fixture. His goalkeeper, Weverton, has already spoken about how he’s struggling to breathe travelling to their hotel, let alone stepping onto the training pitch.

No one enjoys playing football in La Paz – and certain players struggle more than others. It has been reported their big money signing Paulinho is likely to start – but having not played for months due to an ongoing injury, this has confused Verdao fans.

It’s a fixture Ferreira hates – and one he’s outwardly expressed during interviews – and with that in mind, he won’t put his best players at risk. Estevão, Facundo Torres and Raphael Veiga are likely to be dropped – and although their head coach hasn’t revealed too much ahead of kick-off, his 2023 team selection definitely hints at a rotated side.

“Get in and out as quickly as possible” appears to be the message when Brazilian clubs travel to Bolivia, and this match looks to be no different.

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