Rui Borges: Two stars straight into Sporting’s Champions League XI | OneFootball

Sporting presents itself for the Champions League with more available options, maintaining the focus on the players who put the team in the fight for direct qualification in the last round of this league phase. Rui Borges introduced some new elements in the squad list, including two anticipated returns and there are two expected changes in the starting eleven: Morten Hjulmand and Ousmane Diomande.

Nuno Santos, reintegrated into training the day before, 458 days after a serious injury, and Eduardo Quaresma, who suffered a jaw injury in the match against Vitória de Guimarães in the semi-finals of the League Cup final four, joined the squad that arrived in Bilbao yesterday. Both, however, remain out of contention for a spot in the starting eleven. As previously happened with Daniel Bragança, the presence of these two players also aims to strengthen the connection to the group in a decisive phase of the season.

For now, Nuno Santos and Eduardo Quaresma are not expected to be initial options, with doubts remaining regarding Pedro Gonçalves. The forward continues his physical recovery plan and is expected to get some minutes. The situation is different for Diomande, who is expected to return to the defensive line, taking space from Matheus Reis.

The coach is expected to maintain a structure similar to the one used against PSG, but with reinforcements providing strength. Rui Silva will be the goalkeeper, with a defensive line formed by Iván Fresneda - who previewed the match - on the right, Diomande and Gonçalo Inácio in the center, and Maxi Araújo on the left.

Besides that, in the midfield, a change is expected with the return of Hjulmand, although Rui Borges might make some adjustments in this duo: the doubts are between Hidemasa Morita and João Simões, although the latter is a more regular choice for the coach.

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