São Paulo reached the eve of its trip to Porto Alegre with four players set to strengthen the squad for Grêmio Vs São Paulo on Saturday at 16h. Newton, Iago and Domingos Duarte trained normally on Friday morning at CT da Barra Funda and traveled with the delegation, while Bobadilla also came through the session and was available after recovering from pain in his right knee.
That matters because São Paulo has been searching for a reset for weeks. The team had not played since 26 July, when it drew with Flamengo, and goes into the match 12th in the table with 26 points, carrying a seven-round winless run in the Campeonato Brasileiro. The timing is what gives Friday’s workout its weight: this was the last chance to sort out who could help before the road game in Porto Alegre.
Friday’s session was built like a final rehearsal. Dorival Júnior opened with video instructions about Grêmio, then sent the players through an 11 against 11 exercise that focused on game situations, positioning and tactical structure. They finished with set-piece work, a sign that the staff wanted the details sharpened before the squad boarded with the four available names.
The numbers need a little reading, though. The club talked about four reinforcements, but only three of them — Newton, Iago and Domingos Duarte — were new travelers from the Friday group, while Bobadilla’s case was different. He was not a fresh addition to the squad so much as a return from discomfort, and he even left the session with a bag of ice after training normally. That is why his availability changes the picture without changing the count in the same way as the others.
São Paulo is expected to line up with Rafael; Lucas Ramon, Arboleda, Osorio and Wendell; Pablo Maia, Danielzinho or Bobadilla, Marcos Antônio and Luciano; Artur and Calleri. Whether that shape stays intact is the next question that matters, because the final change may be less about the names available than about which of them Dorival Júnior trusts from the first whistle in Porto Alegre.
