Man Utd’s predicted XI under Michael Carrick: Big changes & formation overhaul expected

Michael Carrick is being heavily tipped as the favourite to take over at Manchester United until the end of the season.

With the club not in Europe and out of all cup competitions, United’s full focus will be on the Premier League for the remainder of the campaign.

Once Carrick has a full squad to choose from, this is how we imagine he’ll line up.

One of the few positives from United this season has been the signing of Lammens.

The Belgian goalkeeper has looked like a significant upgrade on Andre Onana, albeit he’s still not the finished product himself.

He’d be expected to retain his starting spot under Carrick.

With Noussair Mazraoui facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford, amid links to Juventus, we think Dalot could retain his starting spot under Carrick.

The Portuguese international still has plenty of doubters to win over, but could be a better fit into Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 system than he was in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1.

There’s no doubt that De Ligt has been a big miss for United of late. Of the nine games that he’s missed through injury, United have only won two of them.

He’s expected to return to fitness later this month and will no doubt be thrown straight back into the starting XI.

Being left-footed, Martinez seems like the obvious choice for this role at LCB.

The Argentine’s skill set complements De Ligt’s and when both players are fully fit, they make a solid defensive partnership together.

This is a toss-up between Shaw and Patrick Dorgu. While Shaw has spent the majority of the season playing as a LCB in a back three, he’s likely to return to his natural position of left-back under Carrick.

Dorgu will be able to provide cover in this position as well as being a potential option to use on the wing.

Casemiro should benefit from playing in a 4-2-3-1 system and having more legs around him to provide cover for the back four.

Regardless of what position you play, for Carrick, it’s a non-negotiable that you help out the midfield and contribute to the team’s defensive shape.

“You can’t expect two midfielders against a good team to deal with three or four players,” Carrick said while on Match of the Day back in October.

“So how do you find the solution? The solution comes from the forwards dropping back to support this middle zone, to support Bruno and Casemiro , the forwards provide support, with Luke Shaw jumping in and staying in there to almost make a three-man midfield.

“In the end, it’s a numbers game and a space game, and you’ve got to fill the right spaces. Bruno, Luke Shaw , and Casemiro here filling up another part of the pitch just kept them solid.”

If anyone can get Mainoo’s United career back on track, surely it’s Carrick?

The 20-year-old has had a turbulent 18 months at the club, but is still seen as the future by the majority of the fan base.

Carrick has a good reputation when it comes to developing youngsters from his stint at Middlesbrough and we think that he could be perfect for Mainoo’s development.

Returning to his natural position should get the best out of Fernandes.

He did a good enough job while playing as a holding midfielder under Amorim, but there’s no doubt that he’s better suited to a more advanced role.

“When games are tight, managers look for someone who can make the difference, someone they trust in big moments. Bruno has that. He affects outcomes,” Carrick has said when describing Fernandes.

This position will be contested between Mbeumo and Amad Diallo. Right now, we’d argue that Mbeumo just has the upper hand.

The 26-year-old is currently United’s highest scoring player in the Premier League with six goals and will no doubt have a key role to play between now and the end of the season.

The benefit of United signing Cunha over the summer is that the Brazilian is comfortable playing in pretty much any system in a variety of different positions.

Under Carrick, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him being used as a left winger, but he could also do a job in any of the other four attacking positions.

Scoring a brace against Burnley felt like a big moment for Sesko in his United career.

It’s safe to say that the 22-year-old has struggled to get going in a United shirt so far, but there have been glimpses of his quality on show.

With Carrick looking to promote a front-foot approach, he could unlock a new level in Sesko between now and the end of the season.