Manchester United head to Arsenal with Erik ten Hag facing the daunting task of beating the league leaders without Casemiro.
United’s stunning recent form hit a speed bump in midweek when Michael Olise’s stoppage-time strike meant they had to settle for a point vs Crystal Palace. But that wasn’t the only setback suffered at Selhurst Park, with Casemiro ruled out of the clash with the Gunners after picking up his fifth yellow card.
That means the Brazilian will be absent as United look to do the double on Arsenal, whose defeat at Old Trafford in September is their only of the season. Ten Hag insists his side can get the better of Mikel Arteta’s men, even without the talismanic midfielder, with Casemiro only playing 10 minutes in the first meeting.
"We have to be really good and need a really good performance but if we do we have a good chance also to get out of that performance a good result,” he explained. "As I said, we beat Arsenal last time without Casemiro so we have an idea how to do it."
Here's how Mirror Football thinks Ten Hag will address the Casemiro problem and start the game in north London.
Goalkeeper and defenders: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw
As well as decisions to make in midfield, Ten Hag will once again be forced to cover for the expected absence of Diogo Dalot. The Portuguese right back has played only once in the Premier League since the World Cup break and the manager has remained coy over his availability.
He did hint he could be available on the eve of the match, explaining: "As you know, Casemiro is absent, but for the rest, we have a good team who has to battle with Arsenal.” But it is believed Dalot hasn’t made the trip to the capital, meaning Aaron Wan-Bissaka is set to continue his resurgence at Old Trafford.
The rest of the back four picks itself and although some would like to see Lisandro Martinez replace Casemiro in midfield, Ten Hag has previously stated that isn’t an option. "Daley Blind does not have the running capacity to play in midfield. And neither does Martinez,” he said while at Ajax.
Midfielders - Fred, Eriksen
Ten Hag has plenty of options when it comes to replacing Casemiro. There is the possibility that he opts to bring back the ‘McFred’ double pivot of Scott McTominay and Fred which was so unpopular when picked by his predecessors.
This would allow him to play Christian Eriksen further forward, likely in place of Antony and use two players to replicate the workrate of the former Real Madrid star. But as he has pointed to that first victory, it seems he will be happy to roll with Eriksen and one more player at the base of his midfield.
During the first game, that partner was McTominay, but in recent months, Fred has established himself as the ‘next man up’ in the United midfield. With that in mind, he gets the task of controlling the likes of Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey.
Forwards - Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst
Wout Weghorst may have not had a goalscoring debut against Palace, but his new manager was happy with what the central striker gave his team. ''He had good link-up play and he made a good run for the first goal with a front-post run by taking two players out.
“He helped Bruno be free. Also in [the] pressing, you can see it was a good debut..”
Anthony Martial looks destined to miss out again, with suggestions he also hasn’t made the trip. Behind Weghorst, it’s a familiar looking attacking line with Bruno Fernandes behind the striker and Antony and Marcus Rashford on either flank.
Jadon Sancho has now returned to training following the individual programme he was put on by Ten Hag, but is not yet ready to take the “next step” and be involved on a matchday, according to the Dutchman.
Man Utd XI vs Arsenal (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Fred, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst.
