Seven regular non-starters holders; Feddal in the center with Matheus Reis on the left in the line of three in the defense, which must have Ricardo Esgaio; Gonçalo Esteves and Nuno Santos on the wings and Bragança in midfield; new attack trio, with Tabata, Tiago Tomás and Jovane. These are the main notes about the team that today Rúben Amorim is preparing to present in Alvalade, at the reception of Varzim (17th of the League 2) in the 16th of the final of the Portuguese Cup.
João Virgínia, Esgaio, Gonçalo Esteves, Daniel Bragança, Tabata, Tiago Tomás and Jovane are the seven players who are normally not Rúben Amorim’s first choices, but who are now preparing to start, at least taking into account the indications given by the coach in the days before the game with the poveiros.
In the eleven that should start the match, only Feddal and Matheus Nunes are undisputed holders and Matheus Reis and Nuno Santos are regularly called to the status of first choices. It will then be more than half a new team in today’s meeting at 20.15 hours in Alvalade.
Adán then goes to rest, with Virgínia returning to the game in one of the Cups. In front of him, the goalkeeper must have Esgaio, adapted, leaning to the right, with Feddal deflected to the middle, for Matheus Reis to take the left – «Neto will be an option, he made a lot of effort to play this game, because it’s special for him [o central é natural da Póvoa e começou a carreira no Varzim], but he won’t play at first», revealed Amorim, explaining that the injured «Coates is out of this game», as is Gonçalo Inácio, who was in the under-21 and is recovering. “He played two days ago and we’re not taking any chances,” he said.
At right-back, the young Gonçalo Esteves must repeat the title of the previous round of the Portuguese Cup, in 4-0 against Belenenses. Porro, although already recovered from a micro-rupture in his right thigh, should only have minutes in the second half. On the left, a sprained ankle prevents Vinagre from returning to eleven, so Nuno Santos backs off. In the center, Matheus Nunes should remain in the team with Bragança to allow João Palhinha to rest, who was at the service of the National Team in the games with Rep. Ireland and Serbia.
A new trio up front: Tabata takes the right, reward for the dedication shown in recent times – «He has a strong mentality and works hard, I liked talking about Tabata because it proved that I have to remember him every minute… to I’m equal to the others, but the way he entered was very important», said Rúben Amorim at the end of the last game, 2-0 against P. Ferreira – Jovane Cabral advances on the left, with Tiago Tomás playing Paulinho in the center . In other words, Pedro Gonçalves is also resting, as is Pablo Sarabia, who was at the service of the Spanish national team in qualifying for the World Cup.
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