Brazil midfielder Casemiro will cross paths with Aston Villa manager Unai Emery one final time in a Manchester United shirt at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Unless he is unfit or hit with an injury, Casemiro will no doubt resume his important midfield role for Red Devils interim boss Michael Carrick in the upcoming clash.
The 34-year-old Brazil international is in the final run of his Manchester United playing spell and will leave Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
Casemiro is set to become a free agent once his contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season, but the United ace could haunt Unai Emery one more time.
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Casemiro arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Manchester United at St James' Park in 2026 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Were you surprised Casemiro was taken off early?! He is going to be badly missed when he’s gone
It was a big call from Michael Carrick to substitute Casemiro!
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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has already talked up the importance of Casemiro’s midfield qualities for Man Utd
Casemiro has enjoyed a resurgence in form at Old Trafford under former Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim, which has carried over to Michael Carrick’s run as well.
The five-time Champions League winner deeply impressed in his debut season under Erik ten Hag after the Red Devils completed a 2022 move for him from Real Madrid.
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Even after Casemiro’s influence at Manchester United waned following the 2022-23 season, Unai Emery refused to play down his threat as a major midfield maestro.
During the 2023-24 campaign, Emery singled out the important influence that the former Los Blancos star wielded for Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd side at the time.
“Casemiro is a very important player for them,” he said in February 2024, as per Manchester United’s official website.
Emery added: “They are recovering some very important players for them, one of them is Casemiro.
“They are going to feel stronger and concerned about the important game [at] this moment because we are in front of them.
“They are contenders more than us to be in the top four or five positions. The reality is we are being consistent, and even losing [on Sunday], we will be in front of them.”
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Casemiro is our number one ranked Brazilian to play for Man Utd – Do you agree?
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Man Utd Brazilians ranked
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Casemiro’s midfield Man Utd dynamic with Kobbie Mainoo is a new threat for Aston Villa manager Unai Emery
During his 2024 remarks, Emery opened up about United “building up and controlling ball possession” and establishing positive “combinations on the pitch.”
Fast-forward to 2026 and Michael Carrick has fixed a core issue that haunted Ruben Amorim during the 2025-26 campaign involving Casemiro in the midfield pivot.
Former United manager Amorim insisted on playing Bruno Fernandes in the two-man midfield with Brazil star Casemiro in his contentious tactical system for Man Utd.
Not only did Bruno Fernandes’ influence wane, but an ageing Casemiro was also asked to do more from a midfield role that was no longer with him since his prime.
Carrick tossed Amorim’s Man Utd tactics out of the window and restored Kobbie Mainoo to a key midfield role alongside Casemiro since his January appointment.
Casemiro has looked only better since the tactical change and Kobbie Mainoo is slowly but surely building his confidence back up in the post-Amorim era of the club.
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