Mora and Gomes may shake up Porto’s XI for Braga clash | OneFootball

FC Porto had to sweat last Monday to leave Moreira de Cónegos with all three points in the title race. Moreirense created clear difficulties for the blue and whites, who once again showed weaknesses against teams with a low defensive block. The most effective way to counter this kind of approach is to provide new options to the squad, and there are two players awaiting an opportunity.

Rodrigo Mora and William Gomes currently stand out as the main candidates to earn a spot in the starting eleven against Sp. Braga, should Francesco Farioli decide to do something that has so far been rare: change the starting lineup.

Conversely, Gabri Veiga and Borja Sainz may be left out, as their recent performances have fallen short of the required level.

The Spanish midfielder remains far from his best form, as Farioli himself has already admitted, and may give up his place to Rodrigo Mora, a player capable of finding spaces against deep-lying defenses and with a better goal-scoring record than the former Al Ahli Jeddah man.

Rodrigo Mora's situation has been much discussed this season for a simple reason. The youngster from Olival had established himself as a starter under Martín Anselmi last season, after being introduced by Vítor Bruno, but soon lost that status with the arrival of Farioli.

He started in only three of this season's 11 matches and only in one of them, against Red Star, did he play the full 90 minutes.

Curiously, it was precisely against the Serbians that he scored his only goal of the current season, already in stoppage time, a goal that secured victory in the second round of the Europa League.

Further forward, Borja Sainz is experiencing a clear dip in form, as reflected in the numbers. In his last 10 matches, the 24-year-old Spanish winger has not scored any goals and has only provided one assist – that was for Francisco Moura, in the away match at Arouca.

Before that, the forward signed from Norwich last summer had scored twice against Casa Pia and assisted against Vitória SC.

Waiting for an opportunity is Brazilian William Gomes, who has already started for this FC Porto and took advantage of Pepê’s injury absence to establish himself as a strong backup weapon.

Once again, the numbers are telling. In the three matches he started for FC Porto, William Gomes always scored – Casa Pia, Sporting, and Red Star were the “victims” of the former São Paulo player, who arrived at Dragão in January but only became influential after Farioli took over as head coach.

However, with Pepê recovered, William Gomes returned to the role of used substitute, coming on against Benfica, Celoricense, Nottingham Forest, and Moreirense.

Almost Immaculate Record

With or without changes to the eleven, Farioli’s goal is clear for the clash with Sp. Braga: win and consolidate the lead in the Primeira Liga. The record against the Minho club offers FC Porto some peace of mind, as they have won 70 of the 84 matches played as the visiting team.

There have also been eight draws and six defeats, the last of which was in 2021. Since then, whenever they host Sp. Braga at Dragão, FC Porto have always come out on top.

It is worth highlighting, however, one fact in favor of the “arsenalistas.” Despite a poor start to the league, this Sp. Braga side has managed to beat bigger teams this season such as Feyenoord, Celtic, and Red Star, all in the Europa League, as well as securing a draw away at Sporting in the league.

Moreover, the team managed by Spaniard Carlos Vicens is currently in its best form, with five wins and a draw in their last six matches.

The match between FC Porto and Sp. Braga, counting for the 10th round of the Primeira Liga, is scheduled for Sunday at 8:30 pm.

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