Pulgar's back, the midfield isn't

Athletico away tomorrow at 19:30 at the Arena da Baixada, and the news from the Ninho cuts both ways. Pulgar is back after 11 games out with a shoulder injury, his first call-up since the layoff. But Jorginho and Evertton Araújo are both suspended, and Jardim's bench in central midfield is thin: De la Cruz avoids synthetic turf for his knee, Saúl struggles on harder pitches with an ankle tendon issue, leaving base prospect Luiz Felipe or an improvised Léo Ortiz as cover. Plata is a doubt with left knee pain. We sit second on 30 points, four behind Palmeiras with a game in hand. Brasileirão picks back up tomorrow.