Man City will ‘destroy’ Man Utd in FA Cup final if Casemiro starts in defence, says Paul Merson

Man Utd face Man City in this weekend’s FA Cup final (Picture: Getty)

Erik ten Hag has been warned that Manchester City will ‘destroy’ his Manchester United team if Casemiro starts in defence.

United travel to Wembley on Sunday aiming to lift a 13th FA Cup trophy and prevent noisy neighbours City from clinching back-to-back domestic doubles.

Ten Hag’s side finished eighth in the Premier League this season, 31 points behind champions Manchester City, who secured a record fourth successive league title.

United were beaten 3-1 and 3-0 in their two league fixtures against Man City and Arsenal legend Paul Merson does not give the Red Devils much hope ahead of Sunday’s meeting at Wembley.

Merson ‘cannot see’ anything other than a Manchester City win and says Ten Hag can expect a hammering if he selects Casemiro in defence.

The Brazilian midfielder has dropped into United’s defence in recent weeks as Ten Hag has been without several injured stars, including Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.

Casemiro has been criticised for his performances at centre-back but Ten Hag may ask the 32-year-old to fill in once again, with Maguire fearing he will miss the Wembley showdown as he continues his rehabilitation.

Casemiro has endured a tough few weeks at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)

‘If Casemiro starts at the back again, don’t worry about tactics, don’t worry about counter-attacking football, don’t worry about anything – they’ll be destroyed,’ Merson told Sky Sports.

‘He cannot play there, he’s not a centre-back, especially against one of the best in the business – that’s an absolute no-go. They need to get someone fit, or come up with a different plan. With that plan, there’s only one outcome.

‘He’s a midfielder, he’s been a top-top midfielder, but don’t ask him to go up against Erling Haaland. He’s got no chance.’

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Merson added: ‘I can’t see anything but a Man City win in the FA Cup final. They’re head and shoulders above Man Utd.

‘People will say Wigan beat Man City in the FA Cup, but this side’s a lot different. This is a one-off game, it depends how Man Utd play.

‘If you turn up and play 10 behind the ball, and try to counter-attack, then get beaten 1-0 or 2-0, don’t have a shot like we did at Aston Villa vs Chelsea [in 2000], you come away and think, why didn’t we have a go? The manager set us up to make sure we didn’t get beaten.

‘Man Utd have got to go and have a go. You do get your chances against Man City if you pick the right pass – don’t get me wrong, you get opened up a lot too – but you do get your chances.

‘They need their players to really have the games of their lives to win this football match.’

Despite struggling under Ten Hag, Manchester United at least won their final two games of the season to gain some much-needed momentum ahead of the FA Cup final.

Manchester City, though, went on a 35-match unbeaten run to beat Arsenal to the Premier League title and reach yet another Wembley final.

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