Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag has confirmed his stand on whether to start Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in Europa League second leg in Spain, MySportDab reports.
Manchester United takes on Real Betis in the Europa League round 16 second-leg in Spain today.
The first leg ended with a 4-1 win for the Red Devils at Old Trafford and the club will hope to progress to the quarterfinal by not conceding three goals which could drag the game to extra time.
The 21-man squad for the game has been confirmed, featuring regular first-team players.
Two of Manchester United’s most reliable players – Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes – are facing the risk of being banned for the quarterfinals first leg if they picked up a booking in the game today.
They have outstanding bookings and picking up a yellow card in the game against Real Betis will see both players miss the quarterfinal first leg.
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With United going into the game with a good lead, some United fans would expect Ten Hag to rest the players at least in the first half of the game to prevent them from being booked and missing the quarterfinal first leg if the team qualify.
However, Erik Ten Hag has confirmed his decision to start the two players despite facing the risk of being banned if they are booked.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Erik Ten Hag said;
“They (Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes) will both play because they are good players.
“We need to field our best players and will not take the match for granted.”
Unlike Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro is facing a four-match ban in domestic competitions.
Both players are one booking away from being suspended from the quarterfinal first leg but the booking slate will be wiped clean after this stage.
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Erik Ten Hag is not taking the game for granted although only one team – Valencia – has ever recovered from a three-goal deficit in the Europa League.
The Real Betis Vs Manchester United game will kick off at 17:00GMT and 06:45pm Nigerian time.