Rúben Amorim must look to start two unlikely Manchester United players against Real Sociedad following a “masterclass” performance against Fulham.
Rúben Amorim will be eager for his Manchester United side to maintain their strong Europa League form as they travel to face Real Sociedad in the knockout stage.
Despite their struggles in the Premier League and a disappointing FA Cup exit, United have won all three of their European matches under the Portuguese manager. They now face La Liga opposition in the round of 16.
The tie will be played over two legs, beginning in San Sebastián on Thursday evening, with the return fixture at Old Trafford a week later.
With United out of the FA Cup and faltering domestically, winning the Europa League represents their only realistic route into next season’s Champions League, as the competition’s winners earn automatic qualification.
Casemiro must start vs Fulham
Despite the FA Cup crash out against Fulham last weekend, a few players have come away with their performances being praised.
One of those is Casemiro, who put on a “masterclass” as a second-half substitute. The Brazilian midfielder was fantastic when it came to his on-the-ball production as he looked to get the player forward whenver he could.
Casemiro produced five passes into the opposition’s final third, which was no doubt a big reason why United started to dominate the game.
He also had his hand in defensive duties, winning three of his four attempted tackles and four of his six duels, with Alan Shearer labelling Casemiro “quality” for his impact on the tie.
Considering United’s next fixture comes against Spanish opposition of which Casemiro will be very familiar with, Amorim would do well to play the former Brazilian international from the start against Real Sociedad.
Eriksen must be given a second start
Some were surprised to see Christian Eriksen handed his first start in around a month when the teams were announced on Sunday afternoon, but the Danish international put on a performance in the first half that earned plenty of plaudited.
Although the player began to disappear as United conceded more possession, Eriksen should remain in the team on Thursday evening to allow Casemiro to play and Rasmus Højlund to be dropped.
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Højlund has not scored in his last 18 appearances and has done little of note to warrant his continued starts, while youngster Chido Obi is still to raw to be thrown into a Europa League knockout tie.
Therefore, for Amorim to get the best out of his current players, he must look to start Eriksen on the right, have Zirkzee as the striker, with Alejandro Garnacho starting on the left.
Fernandes should remain as a slightly deeper midfielder with the license to alternate with Eriksen depending on the game state, while Casemiro would therefore sit as the deepest midfielder.
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