Sporting v Rio Ave | Rui Borges’ likely XI for the final match of 2025 | OneFootball

Rui Silva, Georgios Vagiannidis, Eduardo Quaresma, Gonçalo Inácio, and Ricardo Mangas; Morten Hjulmand and João Simões; Maxi Araújo, Francisco Trincão, Fotis Ioannidis, and Luis Suárez. This should, initially, be Sporting's starting eleven for the match against Rio Ave.

Rui Borges will field the strongest central defensive pair available to him. Regarding the flanks, the coach is forced to make changes since Iván Fresneda is suspended, but Ricardo Mangas remains a starter. Rui Silva continues to be the undisputed goalkeeper.

In the midfield, Morten Hjulmand is expected to pair with João Simões. With several absences in the attack, Trincão is likely to stay on the right, as Geny is with the national team and Quenda is injured. Also without Pote, Rui Borges is expected to opt to use Maxi on the left midfield - despite being in doubt - with Ioannidis supporting the striker, Luis Suárez.

Sporting returns to the field this Sunday, December 28, against Rio Ave. The match, part of the 16th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic, against the team led by Sotiris Sylaidopoulos, will be played at Estádio José Alvalade, at 8:30 PM.

Currently, the green and whites occupy the second position in the National Championship standings, with 38 points. Benfica is in third place, with 35, while Porto leads the competition with 43 points.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.