Manchester United face a double suspension risk as Rúben Amorim prepares his side to face Olympique Lyonnais in the Europa League at Old Trafford.
After Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Newcastle United, Rúben Amorim has quickly turned his focus back to the Europa League.
Manchester United are preparing to welcome Olympique Lyonnais to Old Trafford on Thursday night for the second leg of their blockbuster quarter-final tie.
The first leg in France ended in a 2-2 draw, with United taking the lead through Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee, only for Lyon to hit back through Thiago Almada and a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser from Rayan Cherki.
With the tie finely poised and home advantage now on their side, United will be looking to take control and secure a place in the semi-finals, where they would meet either Athletic Bilbao or Rangers.
That tie remains level after a 0-0 draw in Glasgow, where Rangers held firm despite losing Dutch centre-back Robin Pröpper to a red card just 13 minutes into the match.
United facing double suspension risk
With the second leg at Old Trafford set to be a feisty and hard-fought encounter, United are at risk of seeing two of their players suspended for their next European fixture.
UEFA rules state that any player who picks up three yellow cards across one campaign of the tournament will be handed an automatic one-match ban.
Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte, both of whom have two yellow cards so far in the Europa League this season, are therefore both at risk of missing the semi-final of the competition should United progress past Lyon if either player is carded at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.
Casemiro picked up two yellow cards during the league phase of the competition against PAOK and Bodo/Glimt, while Ugarte saw a booking for shoving Lyon striker Georges Mikautadze in the first leg, which added to the caution he picked up against PAOK in November.
However, should both players make it through Thursday evening unscathed and United progress to the semi-finals of the competition, both of their suspension risks will disappear, as all players who progress past the quarter-finals are given clean slates.
If United can defeat Lyon later this week, they will face either Rangers or Athletic Bilbao in the next round, with that tie currently level after a 0-0 draw between the two sides in Glasgow last week.
Amorim’s starting XI could be influenced
Amid the risk of both Casemiro and Ugarte being suspended for the potential semi-final, Amorim may keep this in mind when selecting his starting XI on Thursday evening.
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Both South Americans started in midfield during the draw in France, but with United fielding a home advantage in the second leg and Amorim no doubt wanting to see more dominance on the ball from his side, one may be rested.
Ugarte has started United’s last four games but had come off early in all three prior to the Newcastle tie, where he played 90 minutes while Casemiro was rested entirely.
Amid Amorim certainly wanting to reduce the risk of losing both of his defensive midfielders in the potential semi-final, it seems increasingly likely that the head coach will choose to start Casemiro alongside Bruno Fernandes.
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