FC Porto gear up for Arouca, but trained in Salzburg | OneFootball

Almost 24 hours after the 'smiling' entry into the group stage of the Europa League 2025/26 – a 0-1 victory against Salzburg (courtesy of a goal scored by William Gomes, three minutes after the 90) – FC Porto's main team refocused on the trip to Arouca.

The blue and whites held a training session on Friday morning, on Austrian soil, led by the Italian coach Francesco Farioli. According to the club, the players who were starters in the previous game “did active recovery work, and the less used trained normally on the field.”

The only exceptions were Nehuén Pérez, who remains “under post-operative surveillance” after surgery to correct a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon, and Luuk de Jong, who only underwent “treatment” due to an internal lateral ligament injury.

It should be noted that both the Argentine international and the Dutchman did not travel to Austria with the rest of the squad and remained working at the Olival training center, so they are apparently out of the call-up for the match that concludes the seventh round of the Primeira Liga.

The Arouca–FC Porto match is scheduled for 8:00 PM (Portugal Mainland time) on Monday, at the Municipal Stadium of Arouca, with refereeing by Fábio Veríssimo from the Leiria Football Association.

The duel between Arouca and FC Porto was at risk of not taking place after the management led by André Villas-Boas threatened to file an injunction to suspend the game, which was rescheduled unilaterally by Liga Portugal due to the Harvest Festivals taking place in the Aveiro village next weekend.

The uncertainties were clarified on Thursday with a statement from the dragons, in which the club criticized the decision of the entity presided over by Reinaldo Teixeira: “However, we must point out that this decision by Liga Portugal is highly detrimental, not only to the legitimate interests of FC Porto but also to the credibility and the very interests of Portuguese football, which are seriously compromised.”

“Still, we are certain that our fans, despite the match being held on a weekday and in Arouca, will know how to rally around the team and be present in large numbers, demonstrating once again our strength and unwavering commitment in defense of FC Porto,” the note stated.

The team of Francesco Farioli now faces a demanding cycle of three games in seven days: Arouca (September 29, Municipal Stadium of Arouca), Red Star (October 2, Estádio do Dragão), and Benfica (October 5, Estádio do Dragão).

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