Vasco Seabra on Porto clash: “We relish taking on the leaders” | OneFootball

Arouca's coach, Vasco Seabra, stated this Thursday that he wants a team with “ambition” to once again beat FC Porto, the current leader, in the 24th round of the Primeira Liga.

“We believe we can counter them. We’re going in with ambition and we’re facing a team that is very strong defensively. Anyone who loves to compete always feels that itch to be able to beat the leaders,” said Vasco Seabra, in the pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with the Dragons.

Tiago Esgaio, Lee Hyunju, and Espen Van Ee will not be available for the trip to Estádio do Dragão due to suspensions, while Mateo Flores and Pedro Santos remain sidelined with injuries. The coach acknowledged the “importance” of these absences but expressed confidence in the quality of the squad.

“It’s important to recognize the players we’re missing. We won’t shy away from the issue, but we have a lot of faith in the group. Surely Farioli will also want to know our choices, but I’d prefer he only finds out at game time. We have alternatives and we believe they’ll put in a good performance,” he said.

Despite FC Porto’s prestige, the blue and whites are going through a less positive spell in recent results – one draw, one defeat, and only four goals scored in the last four matches. Conversely, Arouca is enjoying its best moment of the season and boasts the third-best attack in the second half of the league.

Seabra expressed satisfaction with the team’s collective form, although he downplayed the opponents’ recent run.

“We can look at it from the perspective that FC Porto won’t want to drop more points. We know what they’re going to do, but they’re extraordinarily strong at it. The ideal time is whenever it happens; we have to play everyone. Our current form brings confidence and the need to understand that our victories didn’t happen by chance,” he analyzed.

From a tactical standpoint, the coach highlighted the Dragons’ “positional play” and called for continuous focus throughout the 90 minutes.

“They have a very rigid positional game with very standard movements. They invite us to press, and if we don’t, they have a very aggressive game in depth. We want to be compact so we don’t give up that space. They’re also very strong on set pieces and look to take everything very quickly,” he explained.

Arouca, 10th in the table with 26 points, visits leaders FC Porto, with 62 points, on Friday at 6:45 pm; the match will be officiated by Iancu Vasilica, from the Vila Real Association.

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