Manchester United will be without two-thirds of Erik ten Hag’s first-choice forward line against Leeds on Wednesday as Antony joined Anthony Martial on the treatment table.
The £85m winger will sit out the game against the manager-less side while striker Martial, who also missed Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace, is absent again after not featuring in 21 of their 35 matches this season.
It leaves Ten Hag determined to find a solution as he finds himself short of players in midfield and attack with Casemiro suspended and Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek also injured. “Antony is also not available so we have to sort it out,” the manager said. “I can’t say Casemiro is not there, Anthony Martial is not there. We have to win, this squad all players in Man United are capable. We have to win all the games.”
United thought about appealing Casemiro’s sending off against Palace, for grabbing Will Hughes around the neck, but while Ten Hag believes the punishment was harsh, he did not expect the red card to be overturned.
He added: “We considered it, yeah, but still it’s for me not the right decision but I don’t think we have a chance in a legal process.”
Ten Hag admitted he does not know what to expect from Leeds after manager Jesse Marsch was sacked and coaches Michael Skubala, Paco Gallardo and Chris Armas will take charge as they search for a replacement.
He added: “When Jesse Marsch was in Leeds it was clear how they play, so the way of play, their system, their style. Now it’s possible they change, it’s possible they don’t change. We will only find out on the pitch.”
Marsch is the seventh manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season but Ten Hag said he feels clubs change coach too often and that it rarely has a beneficial impact.
He explained: “It’s always sad if a manager is a colleague and gets sacked. So in general I don’t believe in it, that you sack a manager and get better results. Most of the time it doesn’t work. Let the manager finish their work and make a good evaluation.”
He is wary after United suffered their only league defeat in the last four months to an Aston Villa side who had just changed manager, when Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard.
He said: “Against, Villa, the difference when Emery came in was they had a week to prepare and now they [Leeds] don’t have so much time to prepare. We will see but we need to be proactive.”
He is looking forward to his first encounter with Leeds. “It’s about the match of the roses,” he said. “It’s definitely a big game, in this part of England. It’s a big game for us.”
Ten Hag opted not to comment on Manchester City after the Premier League charged the reigning champions with more than 100 offences. “I don’t have an opinion because I’m not here for financial regulations,” he said. “I am a football manager, I have to stick to that and others have to deal with that.”
