Trincão plus ten? Rui Borges set to shake up Sporting’s midfield - AFS | OneFootball

Francisco Trincão will be one of the new faces in Sporting’s starting eleven for the match against AFS, but Rui Borges may not stop there. Hidemasa Morita steps into the main squad after having been on the bench against Bayern Munich, and the defense could also see some changes.

With the Portuguese international winger now recovered after missing the Champions League match, his inclusion in Sporting’s starting eleven seems certain, especially after the injuries to Geovany Quenda and Pedro Gonçalves. Francisco Trincão thus returns to be one of the leaders of the green and white attack.

Changes are also expected in midfield. João Simões started and delivered a very positive performance against Bayern Munich. The young green and white player should, however, be replaced by Hidemasa Morita, especially considering that Sporting will play again next Thursday, in the Azores, against Santa Clara for the Portuguese Cup.

There are also some doubts in defense. Ousmane Diomande is expected to start in what will be his last game before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations (as is Geny Catamo). He will line up alongside Gonçalo Inácio, but there are still questions regarding the full-back positions.

Iván Fresneda has played many games this season, and with the important match against Santa Clara midweek, he is likely to be rested and replaced by Vagiannidis. On the left side, there are several options: Rui Borges could start Maxi Araújo behind Alisson Santos, but there is also the possibility of the Uruguayan moving up the field to play as a winger, lining up ahead of Ricardo Mangas and sending the Brazilian to the bench.

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