Gabri Veiga and Mora miss Famalicão as Farioli plans changes at FC Porto | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli may be forced to make changes to FC Porto’s starting XI for the home game against Famalicão, in the 28th round of the Primeira Liga.

The issue is that Gabri Veiga picked up his fifth yellow card and will therefore be suspended for that match. Even so, that is not the only concern for the Dragons’ coach, who may also be without Rodrigo Mora due to fitness problems.

The Spanish midfielder has been an almost indispensable player for Farioli since the start of the season, having missed only two matches in the domestic league: against Sporting — after suffering an injury in the moments before the Clássico in Alvalade — and against Tondela, by technical decision.

This will be the third time Gabri Veiga has been left out of the squad for the domestic competition, the second by force of circumstances, since there is nothing he can do to be included on the teamsheet against Famalicão on April 4, and will therefore be ‘forced’ to watch the match from the stands at the Estádio do Dragão.

Although the blue-and-white number 10 has been absent for only a few matches, the truth is that FC Porto have not lost any of the games in which they were without the former Celta Vigo and Al Ahli Jeddah player, having beaten Sporting 0-1 in the fourth round of the Primeira Liga and Tondela 0-2.

Gabri Veiga has been crucial to FC Porto’s attacking play, with five goals and nine assists in 39 matches across all competitions, so he will be a significant absence for the Dragons.

With Gabri Veiga suspended and Rodrigo Mora a doubt through injury for Sunday’s clash on April 4, the weight of Francesco Farioli’s decisions increases.

The Portuguese player suffered a muscle injury in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 against Stuttgart, according to FC Porto’s medical report, which led to the number 86 missing Roberto Martínez’s initial call-up for Portugal’s friendlies against Mexico and the United States.

While it is true that, under normal circumstances, midfield is one of the areas with the most depth in FC Porto’s squad, it is also true that rotation in the more attacking midfield role has been shared between these two players.

That forces the Italian coach to consider a change and, for example, he could deploy Seko Fofana in that role, even if that would mean a significant change in the team’s style of play.

There is also an impact on the options from the bench, as there will be only one player left to provide cover in three positions, at a time when only four midfielders are fit in the Dragons’ first team, which could make the closing stages of the match more difficult in any attempt to inject more energy into the blue-and-white side.

It will therefore be up to Francesco Farioli to manage this situation down to the smallest detail, to avoid overloading the squad just a few days before the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals against Nottingham Forest at the Estádio do Dragão.

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