Can Man Utd win without Casemiro?

The former Real Madrid star was sent off in Sunday’s goalless draw with Southampton and will miss the next four games

Casemiro’s red card against Southampton will cause issues for Man Utd (PA Wire)

Manchester United will have to cope without key midfielder Casemiro for their next four domestic games after the Brazilian’s second red card in three league appearances.

The former Real Madrid star was sent off in Sunday’s goalless draw with Southampton and here is his disciplinary record and how United have fared with and without him this season.

Casemiro’s card count

After no bookings in his first nine United appearances and only three in his first 24, Casemiro’s last 13 games have brought six yellow cards and two straight reds.

He was booked in January’s back-to-back league games against Manchester City and Crystal Palace, then in February’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Nottingham Forest and final against Newcastle and both Europa League matches against Barcelona.

His dismissal in the return fixture with Palace came in the middle of that sequence last month before another followed on Sunday.

They were the first straight red cards in Casemiro’s 600-plus senior games, though he received second yellow cards twice for Real – against Barca in 2021 and Real Valladolid in 2019, meaning he already has as many dismissals for United as in nine years at Real – and for Sao Paulo against Mogi Mirim in 2012.

He has been booked 144 times in his club career – 92 for Real, 27 for Sao Paulo, 16 in a season on loan at Porto and nine for United – with another 21 for Brazil.

What will United miss?

As would logically be expected from those figures, Casemiro’s primary impact is on the defensive side of United’s game.

They have conceded barely a goal a game in the Premier League with him in the starting line-up, 16 in 15 games for an average of 1.07. That jumps to 19 in 11 games, 1.72 per game, when he has not been named in the XI – which includes games when he has come on as a substitute. In all they have allowed 15 goals with him on the field and 20 without.

The number of shots taken against them reflects that split, averaging 10.2 per game when Casemiro starts and 16.2 without him.

United’s win rate and points per game both increase slightly with Casemiro in the fold, 60 per cent and 2.07 per game compared to 54.5 per cent and 1.73 in the games without him starting.

They also take fractionally more shots per game but score fewer goals – 21 in his 15 starts, an average of 1.4, but 20 in 11 or 1.8 per game when he does not start. Casemiro himself has two league goals and three assists to his name, also scoring twice in the FA Cup win over Reading and once in the League Cup final.

• v Fulham (H), FA Cup, March 19
• v Newcastle (A), Premier League, April 2
• v Brentford (H), Premier League, April 5
• v Everton (H), Premier League, April 8

It is worthy of note that United took seven points from their three league games during his previous suspension, against Leeds twice and then Leicester, before he returned to the line-up for the 7-0 defeat to Liverpool and left his side short-handed against the Saints.

He will miss games against Fulham in the FA Cup and Newcastle, Brentford and Everton in the league. Casemiro has previously featured in wins over the Toffees – 2-1 in the league and 3-1 in the FA Cup – and Fulham and a draw with Newcastle, while the early-season 4-0 hammering by the Bees came before he had signed.