Manchester United man could feature in unfamiliar role against Coventry City

Casemiro could be pressed into action in the middle of the defence for Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final with Championship outfit Coventry City on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils have an injury crisis in central defence, with Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans currently on the sidelines due to fitness problems.

Willy Kambwala was again set to feature alongside Harry Maguire in the middle of the back four against Coventry, as has been the case against both Liverpool and Bournemouth in the Premier League.

However, Kambwala was not a part of the Red Devils squad that travelled down to London on Saturday, with the 19-year-old seemingly ruled out of the match through injury.

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Casemiro set for centre-back role against Coventry

As a result, Casemiro could start alongside Maguire in central defence on Sunday afternoon.

Louis Jackson, 18, has been promoted to the first-team squad, while Habeeb Ogunneye, 18, is also available, but it would be a risk to throw either player into the starting XI for an FA Cup semi-final.

Casemiro is the obvious option, but he has spent the majority of his professional career operating as a central midfielder, so it will be a huge change for the 32-year-old.

There will also be a concern about the lack of pace in the middle of the back four if the Brazil captain features alongside Maguire, but head coach Erik ten Hag has been left with limited options.

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Erik ten Hag backs Rasmus Hojlund to hit goal trail again

Rasmus Hojlund will enter Sunday's clash looking to find the back of the net for the first time since the middle of February against Luton Town.

"He was in a fantastic run and then broke his rhythm and why? The question was why? I think there are also always many reasons why," Ten Hag told reporters during his press conference on Friday.

"For instance, he was in the moment when he was in that run and we had the moment where we had many players available. We could bring out a strong side.

"And after he returned, yeah, we have to make compromises and yeah, of course, that is what decreases the performance. And that has also an impact on everyone, so also on the striker."

Hojlund has drawn a blank in his four Premier League appearances since returning from a muscular injury, but a promising first season at Old Trafford has seen him score 13 times in all competitions.