Possible return on the right: Porto’s likely XI for Europa League opener | OneFootball

FC Porto traveled to Austria on Thursday early afternoon, with 26 members in the delegation. Francesco Farioli decided to take a larger group for the debut in the regular phase of the Europa League, with particular emphasis on the call-ups of Martim Fernandes and Alberto Costa, who already trained without limitations yesterday.

It cannot be ruled out that one of the two—probably Martim—will start on the right flank of the defense, considering the statements made by the Italian coach in the press conference. “Alberto is doing very well, but we still have to see if he will be part of this match or not. With Martim and Alan [Varela], things are better, we are checking several factors with the medical department. We will use every possible minute to have them ready,” he stressed.

If Martim occupies the right-back position, it opens up the possibility for Pablo Rosario to move back to his usual position as a defensive midfielder, which would allow Farioli to ease the workload of Alan Varela, who has been training with restrictions in recent days.

The young midfielder João Teixeira, who has been working with the main squad due to the mandatory absence of Eustáquio (serving a suspension), also joined the trip, unlike Tomás Pérez. The Argentine defensive midfielder will join Argentina’s U-20 national team to play in the World Cup of the category, which begins on Saturday and ends on October 19.

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