FC Porto plan fresh shuffle between B team and under-19s for title bid | OneFootball

Among the main objectives of the development setup is giving young players experience in different environments from the very start of the season, especially across the under-19s, the B team and the first team. At the first two levels, the goals were achieved, with the under-19s winning the top division title and João Brandão’s players securing their place in the second tier. Naturally, they ended up being the group with the most daily changes throughout the season, between the regular call-up of youngsters to first-team training and their “loan” to the under-19s, a level many B-team players are still eligible to represent.

Moreover, Porto’s B team has an average age of 19, but despite some difficulties in planning the weeks, the current seventh place is viewed positively by the club structure, also taking into account the high competitiveness of Liga Portugal 2 — for example, only five points separate the fifth-placed side from the team in tenth.

And this Saturday could bring another example of flexibility between levels. The under-19s face their third match point to win the national title, and it is very likely that names such as Bernardo Lima, Mateus Mide, Duarte Cunha and Yoan Pereira will be used by Sérgio Ferreira in the home match against Famalicão, kicking off at 5 p.m. That means the B team, who visit Sporting’s B side (3:30 p.m.), should field alternative options.

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