São Paulo: Luciano returns, Crespo faces selection dilemmas vs Flamengo | OneFootball

With the return of right-back Cédric Soares, who has recovered from a fracture in his right toe, São Paulo finished preparations this Tuesday (4th) for the clash against Flamengo, which will take place on Wednesday night (5th) at 9:30 PM (Brasília time), at Vila Belmiro, valid for the 32nd round of the Brazilian Championship.

The player participated in the entire training session this afternoon at CT da Barra Funda and is included in the squad for the match in Baixada Santista. The Portuguese athlete returns after missing four matches.

In addition to Cédric’s return, São Paulo will also have right-back Maik and forward Luciano back, both of whom served automatic suspensions in the away win over Vasco da Gama in the last round.

The last Tricolor training session before the match against Flamengo began with a warm-up led by the fitness staff. Next, the players went through a technical skills circuit.

Afterwards, coach Hernán Crespo wrapped up preparations with technical drills and a small-sided game.

After the final adjustments, the squad began their trip to Santos (SP), where they will stay until the match against Flamengo.

For the clash against one of the title contenders, needing a win to keep alive the dream of securing a spot in the next Libertadores, Tricolor faces some problems. Of the injured players, only Cédric is expected to actually return. The coach also lost Enzo Díaz and Alan Franco, both suspended after receiving their third yellow card at São Januário.

With no time for tactical adjustments and coming off two consecutive wins—something that hadn’t happened since August—Crespo is not expected to make major changes to the team’s playing style, maintaining the core lineup used in recent matches.

The likely lineup to be fielded by Crespo should be Rafael; Ferraresi (Rafael Tolói), Arboleda and Sabino; Maik (Cédric Soares), Pablo Maia, Bobadilla, Marcos Antônio and Patryck; Lucas and Luciano.

According to data from the Mathematics Department of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, the Morumbi club has a 36.7% probability of reaching the next Libertadores.

Tricolor occupies eighth place in the table with 44 points, three behind Fluminense, currently in seventh place.

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