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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
David McDonnell

Erik ten Hag to make Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro walk suspension tightrope at Real Betis

Erik ten Hag will risk Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro in the Europa League – despite the pair being one booking away from a ban.

United have one foot in the quarter-finals, having beaten Real Betis 4-1 in the first leg at Old Trafford to take control of the last 16 tie.

A booking for Fernandes and Casemiro would see the pair miss the first leg of the quarter-final, but Ten Hag has vowed to start both and play his strongest possible side.

Asked about the potential risk of playing Fernandes and Casemiro, with a ban hanging over them, Ten Hag said: “They will both play because we face a very good opponent.

“Last week we had a good result against Real Betis, but you need your best players, we need a result and we need a win.

“The approach is always serious. We will play our best team, definitely. We have to put out a team that can adapt during the game.

“We know our opponent can do that, they are a good team, they have really good players, they have a lot of variations, so we have to be ready for that and go and battle with them.”

Fernandes and Casemiro are both a booking away from suspension in the Europa League (Getty Images)

“I think we can manage. We have players, they can recover well between games, so we're very careful about what a player can handle.

“Also, we have a lot of positions, we can mix it and, when we're going to the final stages of the season, we can pick our best team.”

Ten Hag also lamented United's injury issues in Spain, with Antony ill and youngster Alejandro Garnacho joining Christian Eriksen on the sidelines.

“When you see all season we have had some setbacks, every time we've dealt with it,” said Ten Hag.

“It's about the players who are available and every time there's a team on the pitch who deals with it.

Youngster Garnacho is set for a spell on the sidelines (Jon Super/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

“In just one game we had the squad available totally and I was able to pick my team, from a tactical approach, perfectly - that was against Manchester City at home this season.

“Every other time it's been one player suspended, injured, or unavailable through illness.

“We have to deal with it well but Arsenal, all the time their squad is totally available.”

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