Derby line-up: Crespo struggles with injuries and absentees vs Corinthians | OneFootball

As the popular saying goes, São Paulo is literally picking up the pieces to define a starting team to face their rival Corinthians in the classic match happening at 7:30 PM (Brasília time) this Thursday (20th), in Itaquera, for the Brazilian Championship.

Coach Hernán Crespo is dealing with absences due to injuries and, to carry out training at the Barra Funda training center, he had to promote players from the youth team. From the professional squad, only 19 players are available. And four of them are goalkeepers.

The Tricolor has no fewer than 12 players in the medical department, three serving their national teams during the FIFA Date, and one training with restrictions (Calleri).

In Tuesday's (18th) practice, activities began with a warm-up guided by the physical trainers, who set up stations with acceleration and changes of direction.

Following that, with the classic ahead, Crespo led a positional tactical activity, which was later complemented with an 11 vs. 11 training session – one of the teams was composed of young athletes from Cotia, who were called by the Argentine coach to join the morning training.

Besides the full-back Enzo Díaz, who underwent surgery to correct an inguinal hernia, the Tricolor will not count on defender Arboleda, with a muscle injury in the left thigh.

Training with limitations for a few days due to pain in the right knee, Lucas will undergo evaluation and is unlikely to be fit for the game.

The good news is Pablo Maia, who has recovered from a tendon injury in his right foot and will be a reinforcement in the classic.

There is still a concrete chance of not having the called-up players Bobadilla, Ferraresi, and Tapia, due to the fatigue from their national team games and the long return journey.

The probable Tricolor team to be fielded in Itaquera will be Rafael; Rafael Tolói (Ferraresi), Alan Franco, and Sabino; Maik (Cédric Soares), Luiz Gustavo, Pablo Maia, Bobadilla (Alisson), and Ferreirinha (Patryck); Tapia (Rigoni) and Luciano.

On the afternoon of this Wednesday (19th), São Paulo will conclude the adjustments for the Majestic.

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