Rui Borges set to hand out Sporting debuts in the Portuguese Cup | OneFootball

Rui Borges is preparing to debut more players in Sporting’s first team in the next match for the Lions, against Marinhense. The green and white coach is working on the Portuguese Cup match, which will take place next Saturday at 6:00 pm, and where several new faces may appear.

Just as he did in the League Cup against Alverca, Rui Borges wants to use Sporting’s youth academy to make up for the absences being felt, as well as the heavy schedule for the Lions. Taking into account the Champions League match a few days later, the six injured players in the squad, and the rotation some internationals underwent during the FIFA international break, the coach considers it important to introduce some new faces into the equation.

The measure also aims to reward the work done by the young green and whites in Sporting’s B team. According to the newspaper Record, one of the players in pole position to make his debut for the first team is Manuel Mendonça, who has been performing well in Sporting’s secondary squad and is returning from duty with the Portuguese under-20 national team.

Another name close to playing for the first team is Gabriel Silva, who was even called up by Ruben Amorim for a trip to Nacional. The forward knows he has a good opportunity to get minutes at the highest level, considering the injury to Ioannidis and Luis Suárez’s long journey back to Portugal.

Moreover, the Portuguese Cup match won’t be just about debuts. Rui Borges is also keeping a close eye on some Sporting academy players who have already made their first-team debut and could be given more minutes, such as Salvador Blopa, Flávio Gonçalves, Lucas Anjos, or Bruno Ramos. The upcoming training sessions at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy will be important for the green and white coach’s decisions, not to mention that the B team will play just a few hours after the first team, on Sunday morning.

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