Manchester United’s home match against Tottenham on Saturday has quickly become a pressure point for Michael Carrick after a slow start to the Premier League season. United are 12th with only one league win, while Spurs are bottom with two points, making the meeting at Old Trafford a game both sides badly need to use to reset their season.
The Guardian says October is already shaping up as a demanding month for United, with six fixtures and away trips to Leeds, Atlético Madrid, Como and Chelsea following the Spurs match. That leaves Carrick with little room for another stumble, even though he retains credit from United’s stronger second half of last season.
The concern for United is not just results but performance. They have conceded fewer touches in their own penalty area than any other Premier League side, yet remain the only team without a clean sheet. At the other end, they have had the most touches in opposition boxes but have not turned that into enough goals or control of matches.
In attack, the numbers are also modest. Matheus Cunha has only one goal, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo are the only players to have scored more than once, and Marcus Rashford has yet to register a goal involvement this season. Benjamin Sesko is injured, while Joshua Zirkzee is not being used as a backup option in the way the club might have hoped.
Carlos Baleba is expected to be available for a debut after joining from Brighton for £65 million in August and recovering from an ankle injury. The report says Carrick is looking to Baleba to add energy to midfield, where United have lacked control. Several other players are also carrying fitness or availability concerns, including Kobbie Mainoo, Rashford, Patrick Dorgu, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Amad Diallo.
United’s recent record under Carrick offers some encouragement: the report notes a run of 12 wins in 17 games after he took interim charge in January. But with finances tight and the schedule intensifying, the immediate test is whether those signs of progress can translate into results quickly enough to calm another difficult spell.
