São Paulo: Crespo to start Luiz Gustavo in midfield vs Grêmio | OneFootball

The São Paulo squad returned to training on the morning of Monday (13th) at the Barra Funda Training Center, focusing on the upcoming match against Grêmio for the 28th round of the Brazilian Championship, which will take place at 7:00 PM (Brasília time) on Thursday (16th), away from home.

The first part of the day’s activities was led by the fitness coaches. With one group in the Reffis (rehabilitation center) and another in the outdoor gym, the players completed a circuit with strength and plyometric exercises.

On the pitch, the coaching staff conducted a series of drills focused on individual matchups and various attack versus defense situations, including play construction, crosses, and finishing.

Finally, the squad was divided into four teams for small-sided games, again focusing on attack versus defense situations and building up the plays worked on earlier, as long passes and aerial balls were not allowed in this activity.

The highlight of the training session was the return of forward Gonzalo Tapia, who took part in all stages of the session after serving his national team and playing the full 90 minutes of the home friendly against Peru last Friday (10th) – Chile won 2-1, and the São Paulo player was involved in the plays that led to both goals.

Defender Ferraresi is scheduled to return to the training center for Tuesday’s (14th) session. He was with the Venezuelan national team and played the entire match in their 1-0 defeat to Argentina in a friendly held in Miami, also on Friday (10th).

Midfielder Bobadilla, meanwhile, will still represent Paraguay in a friendly against South Korea in Seoul this Tuesday (14th). On Friday (10th), Bobadilla started and provided the assist for Paraguay’s first goal in the 2-2 draw with Japan in Osaka.

For the clash against the team from Rio Grande do Sul, coach Hernán Crespo will not be able to count on Pablo Maia, who is suspended after receiving his third yellow card. With Bobadilla still on international duty and Luan recovering from injury, veteran Luiz Gustavo is expected to start.

The likely São Paulo lineup to face Grêmio is Rafael; Alan Franco, Arboleda, and Sabino; Cédric Soares, Luiz Gustavo, Marcos Antônio, Rodriguinho, and Enzo Díaz; Luciano and Tapia.

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