São Paulo: Crespo settles defence, tries Rodriguinho in attack | OneFootball

São Paulo landed in Ecuador early Wednesday evening (17) to begin the quarterfinal decision of the Copa Libertadores against LDU. The first leg takes place at 7pm (Brasília time) this Thursday (18), in Quito.

Due to logistics, as AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, the delegation traveled directly to the Ecuadorian capital and only had one activation session at the hotel.

With this, all of coach Hernán Crespo's decisions for the Tricolor lineup were made during Tuesday's (16) training at the Barra Funda Training Center.

Considering all the players who traveled for the duel, Crespo will have two important returns: forwards Luciano and Ferreirinha. The former served a suspension for the third yellow card in the victory over Botafogo in the Brazilian Championship, at Morumbi, over the weekend. The latter was spared from the duel with discomfort in his left adductor.

As per the fans' expectations, problem solved, after all, both players have the status of absolute starters for the Tricolor and could easily form the attacking duo.

But the reality may be different, as coach Hernán Crespo worked before the trip to Ecuador. Perhaps because Ferreirinha is not 100% recovered and physically fit, solutions were tested.

The most coherent and logical to think about is the inclusion of Rigoni in this supposed Ferreirinha's spot. It was one of the alternatives tested by Crespo, showing his confidence in the compatriot repatriated in the last transfer window.

But there is room for surprises. One of them, as the coach tested this week, was the use of Rodriguinho as a second striker. In this alternative, Pablo Maia entered the team and Marcos Antônio played in a more advanced position, as a playmaker.

Doubts in the offensive sector, certainties in the defensive. In all preparatory activities for the game, Crespo defined the trio of defenders with Ferraresi and Arboleda, who had their positions slightly threatened by the good performances of Rafael Tolói and Sabino against Botafogo.

The probable São Paulo team should be formed by Rafael; Ferraresi, Alan Franco and Arboleda; Cédric Soares, Bobadilla, Marcos Antônio, Rodriguinho and Enzo Díaz; Ferreirinha (Rigoni or Pablo Maia) and Luciano.

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