THE Will the 20th edition be for good? FC Porto enters action, this Wednesday night, in the League Cup, hosting Académico de Viseu in the quarter-finals. The team led by Francesco Farioli has not yet won any title in the competition and last season even failed to reach the final four.
The Porto coach said he attributed the same importance to all games, regardless of the competitions, but assumed the need to manage the players’ physical condition, at a time when the calendar is tighter.
For their part, Académico de Viseu will go to Estádio do Dragão to fight for victory, but Bruno Pinheiro confirmed that he will have to make many changes to the eleven, especially because “he had one less day of rest than FC Porto”.
Sérgio Guelho is the referee appointed to direct the match between FC Porto and Académico de Viseu, whose kick-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm. The referee from the Guarda Football Association will have André Pontes and José Mira as assistants, with Flávio Jesus being the fourth referee. The VAR will be Manuel Oliveira, assisted by Tiago Leandro.
Coaches in direct speech
Francesco Farioli
Academic motivates alert: “”The game in the I League against Académico was already complicated and after that they had a fantastic sequence of results. He said a lot of good things about them and they are proving he was right. The results are proof of this. Tomorrow will be a different game, but we have to be prepared for what the game will be like so we can go all out”.
Opportunities for the least utilized?: “The calendar will be very demanding. We know that this is the standard of a big club. In this case it is a different competition and we are aware of the importance of group cohesion and having everyone ready to play. We had very good examples. Martim was injured before Rio Ave and Nehuén played and scored. In the last game, Oskar had a problem, Borja came in and decided. Everyone has to be prepared to seize the opportunity. The players will have to show their qualities”.
Bruno Pinheiro
Changes to eleven: “We are going to have a lot of changes. We had one less day of rest than FC Porto. We are still recovering athletes, so we have an idea of who is more or less available. We have a game on Sunday, with Rio Ave (for the I League). We have to manage. We don’t want to run the risk of injuries. We believe in the remaining players in the squad”.
Ambition in the League Cup, but…: “We would really like to win the League Cup and we want to win it. (…) It is a legitimate ambition to be in a competition and want to win it, but the biggest focus is the championship. It has been many years out of the I League. We want to ensure maintenance as soon as possible, to ensure better conditions to aim for more in the future, being competitive not just in one competition, but in two or three”.
Latest results
FC Porto: VDDVV
Viseu Academic: VDVVV
Last eleven
FC Porto: Diogo Costa, Alberto Costa, Jakub Kiwior, Jan Bednarek, Zaidu Sanusi, Pablo Rosario, Gabri Veiga, Victor Froholdt, Pepê, André Silva, Borja Sainz
Viseu Academic: Ewerton, Robinho, Nikos Michelis, Anthony Correia, Miguel Brau, Luís Silva, Cihan Kahraman, Nils Mortimer, Soufiane Messeguem, João Guilherme, André Clóvis
Absent
FC Porto: Vasco Sousa, William Gomes and Oskar Pietuszewski (injured)
Viseu Academic: –
