Manchester United's defender Harry Maguire will be absent from the upcoming match against Chelsea due to an additional one-match ban imposed for misconduct. The ban stems from an incident on April 1, where Maguire was charged by an independent regulatory commission for acting in an "improper manner" towards fourth official Matt Donohue following his red card against Bournemouth on March 20. Maguire's reaction came after being sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity when he pushed Bournemouth's Evanilson, leading to Eli Junior Kroupi scoring the equalizer from the spot in added time. Having already missed the 2-1 defeat to Leeds while serving his initial suspension, Maguire will now miss the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday due to the additional ban.
The 33-year-old admitted to the offence and was also fined £30,000. According to the FA's written reasons, Donohue claimed Maguire said: "You're a joke, you're all a f****** joke," as he left the field, although Maguire claimed he did not insult the fourth official but said "something along the lines of 'it is a f****** joke'." A statement from the FA on April 1 read: "It is alleged that the defender acted in an improper manner and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards the fourth official following his dismissal." United will now face Chelsea without both Maguire and Lisandro Martinez, who was sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair during the defeat to Leeds.
Analysis by Fergus Stevenson: Harry Maguire's suspension for the Chelsea game has left Manchester United with limited centre-back options. With Lisandro Martinez also banned and Matthijs de Ligt still injured, United's only natural centre-backs are Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, both of whom have shown inexperience this season.
Luke Shaw could be a more tried and tested option, but the physical challenge of Joao Pedro may lead Carrick to consider a more conventional option. Casemiro has played centre-back in the past, but restricting midfield options further seems unlikely.
A potential solution could be to utilize the deep youth ranks, with 18-year-old Godwill Kukonki being a possible option after featuring in several matchday squads under Ruben Amorim.