Before we start this, there are some posts doing the rounds on Twitter that I'd like to share. One by the Stretford Post and another by The 1958. These two posts show the true feelings of supporters indicating that we've had enough of how poorly the club is run and how the owners have allowed it to deteriorate year after year.
They sum things up perfectly. Kudos to them for putting this out there 👏. The club need to know how us fans, the most important part of the football club, is feeling.
I've even sent the Mayor of Manchester an email voicing my concerns over how the club is run and the regeneration project. Good for him to know that people outside Manchester fare hurt too.
It's very difficult with our club these days. Even on the pitch, we're all over the place. And now we have our third manager of the season. We've played fewer cup games than the amount of managers we've had. Mad 😨.
I was unsure about how to approach this preview. These have always been based purely on the football rather than anything else going on at the club but it's hard to push that aside given how impactful and influential the off the pitch antics have been to what happens on it.
With all that being said, I am just going to focus on the football but it ain't as if that is going to be easy either 😅.
I don't know where to start. I don't know what type of Man Utd will show up. I don't know whether United will show up at all.
And yet, these big matches seem to be the ones that somehow get the best out of us.
I wouldn't be surprised if we won or got absolutely pummeled.
Michael Carrick will take charge of his first game and what a game to do it in as well. He is now our third manager/head coach on the touchline this season and if I didn't know what to expect under Ruben Amorim at times, I certainly don't under a third different boss.
These type of matches are great levellers though, as all form goes out the window. It is at Old Trafford so we know the crowd will be right behind the team and manager which could play a part in proceedings.
However, we've said that so many times in the past only to be left disappointed by game's end.
Anything is possible.
Predicted Lineup
Someone asked me on my livestream on TikTok after Carrick's official appointment whether we even have the players to play a 4-2-3-1 formation.
After a few seconds, I thought about it and realized, actually, we're struggling to field a good side even with this preferred formation.
However, this is the team I think he'll pick:
I did think that he might select Maguire who has returned from injury but as he has just returned and isn't the best in a 2-man defense, I believe Carrick will go with Martinez and Heaven.
Another part of me wanted him to use Dorgu as the right-back given the fact that Dalot looks to be playing against United more than for us. He was atrocious in the defeat to Brighton however, I doubt that that will be the case and Carrick will opt for something more orthodox.
He spoke highly of Mainoo in his interview with Rio Ferdinand which leads me to believe that he will select him alongside Casemiro. Ugarte has done relatively well in recent weeks but again, I think Carrick will go with something more tried and tested. Casemiro is also very experienced which could be key in a game like this.
The front four was actually the easiest part. Bruno at no 10 is a straightforward choice and so is Sesko ahead of him. The striker is a man in form with 3 goals in his last two matches.
With Amad and Mbeumo returning from AFCON (thank God 🙌) it should be a no-brainer to have those two on the wings. They actually fit the bill of what's needed in those positions as we've struggled down the flanks without them.
What to do with Cunha then? He has to be dropped in this case. He hasn't played well in a while and is out of sorts in this formation. He was bought to play in the 3-4-3 as one of the two no 10s. As an out-and-out winger though, I don't think he works.
At least he can provide a good option off the bench.
Approach
I know very little of Carrick's style of play. I never watched him at Middlesborough and we only had him for a short period of time in his first interim spell. That was also 4 years ago in which time, much would've changed.
While his starting formation may be a 4-2-3-1, some have said that his 'Boro sides would shift to a 3-4-3 when in possession so as to maximise as much attacking output as possible by pushing more players forward.
I don't know how this will work against City because we won't have much of the ball.
What has worked for us in the past against Guardiola's teams is the simple but effective counter-attacks. Carrick was part of Solskjaer's coaching staff when United had the better of City during Ole's time in charge. That style was very much hit on the break using the pace of the likes Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial and Bruno's ability to play the killer ball over the top or through the lines.
It was very quick and incisive from United which allowed us to get so many positive results against the noisy neighbours.
We may not have that rapid speed of Rashford but with Amad and Mbeumo, we do have some pace about us. This was also the formation we used in those wins with Bruno as the no 10. City are also without key defenders like Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and John Stones giving us more of a chance to punish them.
We know we're also good at set-pieces. Sesko's goal against Brighton was from a corner showing that even with the departure of Amorim and his coaches that threat from set-plays remains present.
That's about it in terms of an attacking sense as I don't know how else we can hurt City. A high press perhaps but we know how press-resistant City are.
As for midfield and defense, well, we have no chance.
City fielded half of their second team yet still comprehensively beat Newcastle 2-0 at St James' Park in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. Their bench included Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki, Rodri, Rayan Ait-Nouri and no 1 Gigi Donnarumma.
Them five are better than our entire team. Them five were on the bench.
😐.
We're so cooked 😭.
I worry particularly about our defense because we concede at least 2 goals a game and the type of goals we concede are ridiculously poor. All 3 of City's goals in the first meeting were avoidable and that was before they got into gear this campaign.
Their attack at Newcastle included Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and new signing and United target Antoine Semenyo who has now scored in both his first two matches for the club.
We now play with one fewer defender which makes thing more difficult.
Form
United have drawn their last three games against sides that we really should've been beating. It's because of dropping points against the likes of Burnley, Leeds and Wolves that makes us all very concerned because those were easy opponents. We now have three of the big six in our next four matches.
That draw to Burnley coupled with Chelsea's loss in their last game saw us finally leapfrog the Blues. However, both sides actually went down the table as Brentford's and Newcastle's victories saw them move into 5th and 6th!
Picking up just a point at Turf Moor was also our eighth draw of the season which is the joint second-most with only Sunderland having drawn more.
At Old Trafford, United are 11th in the home table with 5 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses giving us a total of 18 points.
Recent results in the derby have been spread out as while City have had more wins, it isn't a foregone conclusion that they will get the victory despite being heavy favourites. There's been five City wins, two United wins and one draw in the last 8 meetings. This fixture last season was that stalemate as it ended 0-0.
I think we'd all probably take that at this moment.
Man City
The scary version of City have returned this season. The version that has two first teams and wins x amount of games in a row en route to lifting the title. Whether that will be the case again remains to be seen but they are certainly on course.
Pep's side have the chance to close the gap to Arsenal at the top to just 3 points should they beat United. They have won 13 of their 21 matches with just four draws and four losses. Only the Gunners have lost fewer (2). Unsurprisingly, they are the division's top scorers with 45 however, have the same GD as Arsenal of 26.
Part of the reason as to why City have fallen 6 points behind is because they've drawn their last three after an eight-game winning streak.
After 10 matches, City are 4th in the away table with five wins, two draws and three losses meaning that three of their four defeats have come on the road. Chelsea on 19 are the only side to have scored more than City's...and United's 18 away from home.
Yes we've scored the same amount as our noisy neighbours on our travels.
Against the other big 6 teams, City have two wins, two draws and one loss in five games. That one defeat was their only home loss in the opening game of the season to Spurs.
While they are the top scorers, City have also been very good defensively. Their 8 clean sheets this season is joint-second with only Arsenal's David Raya having kept more (10). Just 3 of those 8 have come on the road though.
On the other hand, United have kept just 2 all season so it's almost guaranteed that City will score.
As mentioned, Pep will be without Stones, Gvardiol and Dias in defense which could put them in a spot of bother. I do believe United will score but it won't be enough due to City's firepower up top.
Prediction
I am really struggling with United. I'll always love and support the club but it's becoming increasingly strenuous because of how we're run.
Even if we somehow manage to pull off the unthinkable by playing well, getting a win and perhaps moving up the table, that joy will be short-lived. It will also take away the focus from the board which is something we cannot afford to happen. People will be happy with the win over our city rivals and sort of forget about the real issue.
You know how quick and easy it is to please people in this fan base.
This isn't me saying I want us to lose but if defeat means that the pressure remains (and increases) on the board, then I'm all here for it.
As far as I'm concerned, the season is already a bust even if European/CL football is still a real possibility. Getting in a new manager (interim or otherwise) doesn't magically fix all of the shit from the past decade.
A potential positive result could give us a quick boost of happiness but the real problems will remain.
Just purely on the football though, I know we have hope as fans, even if it's a fool's hope, and that will always make us believe to some small extent, that we can get a positive result in any game even ones as tough as this.
I think we need to stop doing that. I think we, and I include myself in this, need to stop thinking that because it's a big game, players may show up, or that our next few matches are against average teams so we should get maximum points.
What evidence has there been over the last 12 years and particularly since INEOS arrived to suggest that we can think this way?
I honestly don't see us getting pumelled, although again, I wouldn't be surprised if we did. Nonetheless, I do believe City will win relatively comfortably. 1-3.
Look, nobody likes to lose especially to fools like these but if we do and do so badly, it won't be because of Carrick, it won't be because of selection or even just one decision.
It'll be because this squad reflects years of poor planning - and no interim spell can hide that.
Results hurt. But illusions do more damage.
What are your predictions for what will undoubtedly be a very interesting Manchester Derby?
Amad | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Old Trafford | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)
Rayan Cherki | Image via Manchester City official X (@ManCity)