PREMIER LEAGUE
Why isn’t Raphael Varane playing for Man Utd against Arsenal today?
Erik ten Hag’s team will be looking to redeem themselves for last week’s humiliation at Palace. Casemiro has been covering in central defence with mixed results.
Manchester United host Arsenal in the only fixture on Sunday’s Premier League program. For Erik ten Hag’s team, it will be the first of three tough games to bring the league campaign to a close. His side, who suffered a 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in their last outing, have slipped down to eighth in the table with any chances of playing next season’s Champions League long faded. Even if they do win all of their remaining games, that would give them a maximum of 63 points - not enough for top four, and probably any of the European positions, as that would require the teams above them: Chelsea, Newcastle and Spurs to lose all of their remaining games, as implausible as that might seem.
United and the wrong kind of records
This season, United have lost 13 Premier League games - a club record. And another club record, the wrong kind, is in danger of being equalled or broken. The club’s worst finish in the Premier League was seventh, under David Moyes in 2013/14. Looking at who’s to come - after Arsenal they play Newcastle and Brighton, it would be a miracle if they sneaked into sixth, but stranger things have happened.
On the plus side, captain Bruno Fernandes is available again after missing a couple of games with a fractured hand. Marcus Rashford is also back to full training and could enter the starting XI.
United’s injury list: Maguire, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martínez...
Ten Hag has been unable to call on Raphaël Varane since the French centre-back pulled up with a muscular injury in the 4-3 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 4 April. No more details have emerged about Varane’s injury, presumably a low-grade tear - the player has missed the last eight games and the way it’s looking he probably won’t play again this season.
That’s been a huge headache for the manager with Victor Lindelof sidelined since Easter with a hamstring injury. Jonny Evans has had an erratic season, flitting in and out of the team with various fitness issues. He returned in last week’s game at Palace, playing his first full game since December.
It’s also been a grim year for Lisandro Martínez who has spent most of it in the treatment room. The Argentine defender has made just nine Premier League appearances this season with one injury after another. Just when it looked like he might return for the final games he injured his calf muscle in Tuesday’s session.
Harry Maguire is expected to be out for another couple of weeks after suffering an unspecified muscle injury which means Ten Hag will only have one first team centre-back for the remainder of the campaign. It is hoped that Maguire will have recovered in time for the FA Cup final against City on 25 May.
And it’s unlikely we will see left-back Luke Shaw against this season - he’s been sidelined since February and was reported to have succumbed to a new injury in training last week. The same applies to two other long-term absentees: Anthony Martial and Tyrell Malacia. The former underwent a groin operation at the start of the New Year and Malacia has been out since the end of last season, recovering from a knee injury.