While the spotlight is firmly fixed on their neighbours this week, Manchester United are gearing up for a seldom-seen double header that could pile a different type of pressure on Manchester City.
A managerless Leeds side provide the back-to-back test for Manchester United, first at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, followed by Elland Road on Sunday, with the first of these two matches rearranged from September.
This rarity – consecutive league fixtures in one campaign against the same opponent – is a 56-year first for United, who played Wolves at home then away in December 1967, and is also a golden opportunity to bank six points in their bid to guarantee Champions League football next season.
A title push looks just out of their reach, but nevertheless United know victory on Wednesday would see them move level on points with rivals City, who are next in action at home to Aston Villa on Sunday.
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United had been considering an appeal, but head coach Erik ten Hag admitted he saw little point challenging a red card handed out for a confrontation with Will Hughes that was deemed violent conduct by referee Andre Marriner.
“Consider? Yeah,” Ten Hag said when ruling out an appeal. “Still, for me, it’s not the right decision but I don’t think we have a chance in a legal process.”
The suspension means Casemiro will also miss the home match against Leicester on 19 February, but the Brazilian will at least be available for the Europa League matches against Barcelona this month, as well as the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle on 26 February.
That will be a welcome relief for Ten Hag, who has started the midfielder in 13 of their past 14 Premier League games – the one anomaly being the January match against Arsenal missed due to a yellow-card suspension.
United lost on that occasion, their second league defeat of the season when Casemiro has not started compared to one defeat when he has, but Ten Hag would not view this upcoming absence as a worthy excuse should they slip up against Leeds.
“I always have to play with the players who are available and we have a squad, we have many good players in our squad who are also not playing in the starting XI,” Ten Hag added.
“After a game I can’t say ‘Casemiro is not there, Anthony Martial is not there’ – we have to win. United are capable and we have to win the games no matter who is on the pitch.”
Without Casemiro or the injured Christian Eriksen, Ten Hag is expected to start Fred and also hand a full debut to deadline-day loan signing Marcel Sabitzer, the 28-year-old Austrian who played the final 10 minutes against Palace.
“He came in, he played really well,” Ten Hag said of Sabitzer’s display against Palace. “He understands the game and it is good to see.”
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“He’s an experienced guy,” De Gea added. “It’s not easy to come in a game when we’re one man less, he showed good spirit, he’s going to help the team a lot.”
Sabitzer made just seven Bundesliga starts for Bayern Munich before joining United, with the opportunities drying up after the World Cup break.
Since the start of October, he played 173 minutes of league football for Bayern, meaning a three-game run in the United XI could see him play as many minutes in a fortnight as he managed in three months in Germany.
This baptism of fire is unlikely to see him replace Casemiro in the long run, however, but with Eriksen injured until late April at the earliest, it would be a welcome sight for United if Sabitzer can hit the ground running – and avoid suspension himself.
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