How Manchester United Could Play against Leeds amid Casemiro Absence?

In light of Casemiro's three-game suspension, Erik ten Hag will be considering how to best build up his Manchester United team.

In the club's 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on weekend, the Brazilian midfielder was shown a straight red card for aggressive behavior after grabbing Will Hughes by the neck. The 30-year-old now will be forced to miss three consecutive games in the league against Leicester and Leeds, both at home and away.

Undoubtedly Casemro's absence will be a big headache for the Dutch coach considering his influence on the current side. Since moving from Real Madrid to United last summer, the 30-year-old has established himself as the team's most crucial player. For United, Casemiro has started 13 Premier League games this season and the team only lost once against Aston Villa in all these fixtures. This implies his significance in the side hence, replacing him in the playing XI will surely be a challenge to Ten Hag.

However, the Dutch coach has shown his tactical acumen numerous times this season in tough times and the upcoming games could experience something similar.

The Red Devils are just 3 points behind defending Champions Manchester City and now will be having a double header against Leeds United, with the first one being played at the Old Trafford on Thursday (February 9 IST). In Casemiro's absence, Ten Hag could line up the midfield in three different ways.

Mctominay's Inclusion

The obvious replacement of Casemiro on the side could be the 26-year-old. Ten Hag decided to gently acclimatize Casemiro to his new surroundings when he initially arrived at Old Trafford in August rather than throwing him into the team. Scott McTominay remained in the middle of the pitch at that time, serving as United's defensive-minded midfielder. It could be the same case this time around.

New Signing Sabitzer Comes In

The latest January signing could also replace Casemiro in the line-up and can partner with Fred in the middle with a double pivot system. The Austrian midfielder is well capable of playing in that role and his fair share of little glimpses against Crystal Palace could give fans positive hope.

Welcome to #MUFC training, Marcel Sabitzer! pic.twitter.com/VwQTKj8bUm

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 3, 2023

Victor Lindelof's change in Position

The Swedish defender was deployed in the defensive midfield role against Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup for around ten minutes and Ten Hag could tweak the system at some point to involve the defender in the middle.

The Dutch coach has very recently suggested that the coaching team is working on Lindelof's position to utilize him as the defensive midfielder and it could come sooner in this period.