Santos welcome new face, prepare for crucial Vitória clash | OneFootball

With a new development, Santos returned to training on Thursday afternoon after the 3-1 win over Corinthians at Vila Belmiro. The Peixe squad began preparations for the important match against Vitória, valid for the Brazilian Championship.

The news was the center-back Alexis Duarte. The defender returned to training with his teammates on Thursday after serving the Paraguayan national team during the FIFA break. Therefore, he will be available to Vojvoda for the clash.

Santos hosts Vitória on Monday night in a direct battle against relegation. Kickoff is at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at Vila Belmiro, for Matchday 29 of the Brasileirão.

How was training?

As usual, the players who featured for more than 45 minutes in the derby against Corinthians did recovery activities at the CT Rei Pelé gym.

The remaining players, in turn, carried out technical and tactical work on the pitch under the command of head coach Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s staff.

Still undergoing treatment for their respective injuries, Neymar, Tomás Rincón and Thaciano remained indoors.

Absences, doubts and returns

Santos has two confirmed absences for the game against Vitória. Neymar is still recovering from a right rectus femoris injury, while João Schmidt is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Thaciano, who is treating an ankle injury, should also be out.

Defensive midfielder Tomás Rincón, meanwhile, is doubtful. He is recovering from edema in his left calf. On the other hand, Peixe will have the certain return of forward Tiquinho Soares, who served a suspension against Corinthians and is available again.

Santos’ position in the table

With the win over Corinthians, Santos got some breathing room in the fight against relegation. Juan Pablo Vojvoda’s team remains in 16th place, but now with 31 points, six more than Vitória, who sit at the top of the relegation zone. Leão, however, take the field this Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) against Bahia, at home.

Santos’ upcoming matches

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