FC Porto’s likely XI for Europa League debut: right-back returns | OneFootball

FC Porto traveled to Austria on Thursday early afternoon, with 26 members in the delegation. Francesco Farioli decided to take a larger group for the debut in the regular phase of the Europa League, with particular emphasis on the inclusion of Martim Fernandes and Alberto Costa, who already trained without limitations yesterday.

It cannot be ruled out that one of the two – probably Martim – will start on the right side of the defense, considering the Italian coach's statements at the press conference. «Alberto is doing very well, but we still have to see if he will be part of this game or not. With Martim and Alan [Varela], things are better, we are checking various factors with the medical department. We will use every possible minute to have them ready,» he emphasized.

If Martim takes the right-back position, it opens up the possibility for Pablo Rosario to move back to his usual position as a defensive midfielder, which would allow Farioli to ease the load on Alan Varela, who has been training under restrictions in recent days.

The young midfielder João Teixeira, who has been working with the main squad due to Eustáquio's mandatory absence (serving a suspension), also joined the trip, unlike Tomás Pérez. The Argentine defensive midfielder will join Argentina's U-20 team to compete in the World Cup of the category, which starts on Saturday and ends on October 19.

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