Arboleda’s return sparks São Paulo selection dilemma vs Bragantino | OneFootball

On the morning of this Thursday (19th), at the Barra Funda training center, São Paulo held another training session focused on the single-leg quarterfinal match of the Campeonato Paulista, against Bragantino. The game is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (Brasília time) on Saturday (21st), at the Cícero de Souza Marques stadium, in Bragança Paulista (SP).

After the warm-up, which also included technical drills, Hernán Crespo and his assistants conducted an extended 11-on-11 scrimmage in which two formations from the main squad were observed. To complement the exercise, 18 youth academy players were called up.

Defender Arboleda, who returned on Wednesday (18th) after attending to personal matters in Ecuador, and midfielder Bobadilla, recovered from a trauma to his right thigh, took part in this stage of training, as did midfielder Cauly, the club’s latest signing, who is already registered with the BID and may make his debut.

Forward Ferreirinha, who missed the match against Ponte Preta due to a strain in his right adductor, went to the pitch and performed ball work with an adapted load under the guidance of the fitness coaches. The same applied to forward André Silva, who is in physical transition after recovering from a right knee injury.

The expectation is that, with a full week of training and given the decisive knockout nature of the match, coach Hernán Crespo will field his strongest lineup in the interior.

There is only one doubt for the match against Bragantino: whether or not to return to the three-center-back system. With Arboleda available again, this is a possibility, especially since the match will be played away from home.

A possible São Paulo lineup for Saturday could be Rafael; Lucas Ramon, Alan Franco, Sabino, and Enzo Díaz; Bobadilla (Arboleda or Pablo Maia), Danielzinho, Marcos Antônio, and Lucas; Luciano and Calleri.

The Tricolor will hold their final preparations for the match on Friday morning (20th), again at the training center. The squad will depart for Bragança Paulista on the day of the match.

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