Benfica v Santa Clara: Bruno Lage has (good) selection headaches to solve | OneFootball

Anatoliy Trubin, Tomás Araújo, António Silva, Nicolás Otamendi, Samuel Dahl, Enzo Barrenechea, Richard Ríos, Andreas Schjelderup, Fredrik Aursnes; Franjo Ivanovic and Vangelis Pavlidis. This is the likely starting eleven for Benfica for the match against Santa Clara, next Friday, September 12, at 8:15 pm.

The first big question started right in goal. In the last matches of the Liga Portugal Betclic, Bruno Lage has opted for Samuel Soares, but according to his own statements in the preview of another round of the National Championship, this time Anatoliy Trubin will be the chosen one.

In defense, and with the absence of Amar Dedic and his natural replacement, Alexander Bah, Tomás Araújo will take the right-back position, a position he is quite familiar with. On the other side, Samuel Dahl should be in the starting lineup, with Rafael Obrador remaining on the bench.

In midfield, Enzo Barrenechea and Richard Ríos will form the usual duo. Fredrik Aursnes and Andreas Schjelderup are expected to occupy the right and left flanks, respectively. The big question arises regarding the player who will support Pavlidis: Franjo Ivanovic or the new signing Sudakov. However, the choice is expected to fall on the Croatian forward.

The Benfica–Santa Clara match is scheduled for September 12, at 8:15 pm, at Estádio da Luz, and is part of the fifth round of Liga Portugal Betclic. Bruno Lage’s team is currently in fourth place in the National Championship, with nine points from three matches. Porto is first (12 points from four matches), Famalicão second (10 points from four games), and Sporting third (nine points from four matches).

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