FA Cup final battles: Casemiro vs Kevin De Bruyne | OneFootball

Manchester United fans now must only wait two days before they get the chance to see if their team can bring the FA Cup back to Old Trafford.

A disappointing season can end in the sweetest way if Erik ten Hag’s men are able to overcome their notorious rivals Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.

United finished a whopping 31 points behind their cross-city rivals in the table and scored an incredible 39 goals less.

However, cup football is made for underdogs and the Red Devils certainly have the individual talent to hurt City, if they play to their potential.

Modern football is often decided in the middle of the park and one key battle will be between Casemiro and Kevin De Bruyne.

Both players are 32 years old and far from the peak of their powers but how they play will still most likely have a huge impact on whether or not their respective set of fans go home happy or not.

United’s Brazilian was outstanding last season and was a hero at Wembley last year, scoring the opening goal in the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.

However, this season has been a disaster for Casemiro as he has regularly been unable to play in Ten Hag’s chaotic, transition based style, often hopelessly lunging into tackles so he doesn’t need to chase back.

The Brazil legend has received a huge amount of criticism from pundits who believe he is no longer good enough to compete at the highest level.

In addition, he is likely to be sold in the summer as INEOS want to shed his huge wages from the club and go in search of younger, hungrier talent.

To compound matters, he has been asked to play the last few games of the season in the unfamiliar centre back role to aid United’s defensive injury woes.

Luckily, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane both looking on course to start the final, the multiple time Champions League winner can return to his favoured position at the base of the midfield.

Whilst the Brazilian has been poor and subsequently lost his place in Brazil’s Copa America squad, he will need to be at his best to stop the creative genius of De Bruyne.

The midfielder did play significantly better versus Brighton and Hove Albion last Sunday and will need every drop of his experience to halt City’s Belgian menace.

Despite suffering a serious injury at the start of the season, the Belgian has contributed six goals and an incredible 18 assists in just 25 matches.

City have numerous creative outlets in their side, but there is no question De Bruyne is the catalyst for their artistry. Stop him and you have a chance.

The Belgium international is undeniably a class player but he has lost a yard of pace due to serious injuries. Casemiro must not get caught up the field and must use his wealth of experience to stay in position to deal with the massive threat of De Bruyne.

If he gets stranded up the field, with City breaking into space, the end result is unlikely to be that satisfying for United fans. He will need to show immense discipline to play a strict defensive midfield role where he can solely focus on using his positional sense to stop City’s attackers, especially De Bruyne, from picking up the ball in pockets of space.

Despite the poor performances, Casemiro is a serial winner. He has played so many big games, coming out on top over and over again. Five European Cups, three Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and three Spanish Super Cups, to go along with last season’s Carabao Cup, suggests he knows how to get over the line in a final.

It will be a tough ask but with his future likely to be away from Old Trafford, it would be quite the final act of his United career to expertly snuff out the danger of City’s assist king and deliver the famous old trophy back to Old Trafford for the first time since 2016.

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