After receiving a late yellow card against Crystal Palace for a poorly timed challenge on Wilfred Zaha earlier in the week, Man United midfielder Casemiro will miss his side’s blockbuster Premier League clash against leaders Arsenal on Sunday.
Even though the Red Devils took the lead against Palace thanks to Bruno Fernandes’ first-half opener, the 20-time league winners were pegged back after Michael Olise fired in a superb extra-time free-kick equaliser.
Despite the disappointing 1-1 result, which saw United take just one point away from South London, arguably Erik Ten Hag’s biggest problem came after Casemiro received a booking. The South American’s latest yellow card now means he is suspended for his side’s next game.
Looking to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the table, United must not only find a way to do the league double over their London rivals, but they will have to do so without the help of Casemiro, who has undoubtedly been one of the team’s best players so far this season.
Although Ten Hag’s decision to play the former Real Madrid star away to Palace backfired, Collymore defended the Dutchman.
“Erik Ten Hag wasn’t wrong to start Casemiro against Crystal Palace and anyone suggesting otherwise is just going off hindsight,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
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“United could have lost to Palace and then gone on to lose against the Gunners, and if Ten Hag didn’t play Casemiro midweek, that’d have been questioned too, so the decision was an easy one – start him and hope he doesn’t get carded. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, it didn’t quite go to plan and they must now work out a way to get a good result away to the league’s leaders on Sunday.”
Going on to speculate how the Red Devils can manage Casemiro’s absence, Collymore hinted that Fred could be a better option than Scott McTominay.
He added: “United beat Arsenal back in September with Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen at the base of their midfield, and although their 3-1 win flattered them a bit because Arsenal were good in that game, it was the Red Devils who took all three points and that’s a fact – so whether or not Ten Hag will tell McTominay to go and do his job again, I’m not sure, but the way Fred played against Man City last weekend will certainly be on his manager’s mind.
“The Brazilian was tenacious, he ran his socks off and tracked back really well. He really helped stop City’s midfield from functioning.”
United’s clash against Arsenal, which will take place at the Emirates Stadium, is set to kick off at 4.30 p.m. (UK time) on Sunday and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.