Erik ten Hag consider dropping experienced winner to the bench for FA Cup final

Saturday’s trip to Wembley could see Erik ten Hag’s final game at Manchester United but the same could be said for many players.

Manchester United’s under-pressure manager, Erik ten Hag, has given consideration to dropping Brazil veteran Casemiro for Saturday’s FA Cup final against Man City.

I jokingly said on this week’s episode of the Strettycast that Casemiro would be ‘dropped’ from defence for the FA Cup final against City, otherwise, our rivals would be licking their lips, but I didn’t expect him to be dropped from the line-up completely. My co-host Brian Murphy agreed that the former Real Madrid star would likely start in midfield over loanee Sofyan Amrabat.

According to The Athletic, United prepared in some of their final sessions this week for the game at Wembley with Casemiro absent from the starting line-up.

The Athletic has published a report stating Ten Hag is considering an approach in which Casemiro does not start against City. Adam Crafton, along with Mario Cortegana, adds that line-up will be finalised on matchday when it is handed into the match officials at Wembley but United’s players have been left with the impression that the five-time Champions League winner may miss out.

It will come as a blow to Casemiro as it could be his final appearance in a United shirt, and every player will be hoping to start in the FA Cup final.

We should note that anything can happen between now and kick-off, so there’s still every chance Casemiro may still feature in the starting line-up.

The report adds: “Not all of United’s team are supportive of an approach that may not include Casemiro, who has started 31 matches across all competitions this season and been a regular in Ten Hag’s side when available for selection.”

Casemiro has not performed at the required standard this season, but it’s not like Ten Hag has a number of alternative options at his disposal.

This means Amrabat stands a chance of making the starting line-up. It will be his final match before returning to Fiorentina, where he faces an uncertain future.

We’ll have to wait for Ten Hag to announce his team an hour before kick-off to find out for certain.

Subscribe to the Stretty News podcast Strettycast for weekly episodes on Manchester United. You can also sign up to the ad-free Stretty Newsletter. Get the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.