Rui Borges lines up a big surprise for Sporting v Arsenal | OneFootball

Sporting host Arsenal with a significant change to the starting eleven. Morten Hjulmand’s suspension forced Rui Borges to rethink his strategy. The solution points to greater tactical flexibility, with the aim of balancing the game against the English side.

Zeno Debast has emerged as the choice to join Hidemasa Morita in midfield. The Belgian international will move further up the pitch to take on a different role from his usual one. The idea is to make the team more adaptable. The player may also help strengthen the defence and support attacking build-up.

The Sporting coach’s plan is to have more control when out of possession. Debast may drop deeper to form an additional defensive line, while also offering passing quality in the build-up. That versatility is seen as essential against Arsenal.

In addition to this change, Sporting are expected to field a completely reshuffled defence. Iván Fresneda returns after recovering from flu, while Ousmane Diomande and Gonçalo Inácio are back in central defence. Maxi Araújo will take the left flank. Luis Suárez is set to return to the starting line-up, but is at risk of missing the second leg, and Geovany Quenda still has not been given the green light to be included among Rui Borges’s options.

The green-and-white side return to action next Tuesday, 7 April, against Arsenal. The match, the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, will be played at the José Alvalade Stadium at 8pm.

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