Carrick to make 1 big change vs Arsenal as £17.1m Man Utd star returns
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick could make one big change to the starting line-up for Sunday’s Premier League game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Red Devils returned to winning ways last weekend with a sublime 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford. They were thoroughly dominant over 90 minutes and deserved the victory.
The confidence will be high in the squad after a statement win in the Manchester derby, and they now face another big challenge when they travel to north London to take on the Gunners.
Carrick may ideally prefer an unchanged XI after outclassing the Cityzens, but we anticipate the 44-year-old to make a solitary change with Noussair Mazraoui coming in to replace Diogo Dalot.
Dalot had a mixed outing against Pep Guardiola’s side last weekend. He received a yellow card for a rash challenge on Jeremy Doku early on, but it could have been a sending off on another day.
The Portuguese was also guilty of making wayward passes in the final third. The right-back had a more stable performance in the second half, particularly after United broke the deadlock.
Despite this, Carrick could contemplate a change on the right side of United’s four-man defence.
Mazraoui, who was signed for a package worth £17.1 million from Bayern Munich, could be drafted straight into the position after his return from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Morocco.
The versatile full-back will be bitterly disappointed after losing the AFCON final to Senegal. He may want a quick turnaround, similar to Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo, who starred in the derby.
The 28-year-old is a better all-round right-back than Dalot in our view. He is much better at timing his overlapping runs and is probably the best defender in one-on-one situations in the United squad.
The Moroccan has the knack of winning regular duels but has also excelled with his positioning. He is more efficient with his distribution and loses position less often per league game than Dalot (6 to 11.5 this season).
Carrick has already made some big decisions, such as benching Benjamin Sesko and starting Patrick Dorgu over Matheus Cunha on the left wing. It won’t be a surprise if Mazraoui makes the starting XI on Sunday.
Stats from Sofascore.com
Article written by Sri Aswin .