Manchester United manager Erik ten Hague has vowed to play his ‘best team’ against Real Betis on Thursday night despite a 4-1 aggregate lead from the first leg.
United took a step into the quarter-finals with last week’s win at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghurst.
That gives Ten Hague’s side a comfortable advantage going into Benito Villamarín in Seville, but the United boss is taking no chances and has insisted he won’t be moving around as much as might be expected. That would include Fernandes and Casemiro, despite both risking suspension.
Yellow cards will be cleared at the end of the quarter-finals to reduce the possibility of players being suspended for the finals of UEFA competitions through collection.
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If Fernandes or Casemiro receive a yellow card on Thursday, they will be suspended for the quarter-final first leg – assuming United do not pull off a miracle comeback this week. But it seems to be a risk Ten Hague is willing to take.
“They will play, both. It’s a very good opponent. We had a good result last week, but we need to go again. We need our best players and our best team,” explained the Dutchman.
“It’s always serious and we will play with our best team. We have to prepare a team that can adapt during the game. We know our opponent can, because they have really good players. One should be ready to fight them.
After starring in the first leg, Antony would miss the game due to illness. However, Ten Hague has named both Anthony Elinga and Facundo Pelestri as additional options. The latter put in a top display off the bench in the first leg, setting up Weghurst’s goal with a quick dribble.
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders And Rob Blanchette Discuss the possibility of Lisandro Martinez covering the suspended Casemiro, Antony’s recent form, Jadon Sancho, Harry Kane and more in midfield. Click if you can’t see this embed. Here To listen to the podcast!