Carrick to make 2 big changes vs Newcastle as £57m Man Utd star returns
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick could make two big changes to the starting line-up for Wednesday’s Premier League game against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
The Red Devils continued their good form under Carrick with a 2-1 comeback win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Sunday. Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko were the goalscorers.
Carrick has generally preferred to name an unchanged XI, but Sesko received a well-deserved start ahead of Amad yesterday on the back of scoring some crucial goals off the bench for the club.
United are scheduled to face Newcastle on the road on Wednesday night. Ahead of the clash, we anticipate at least two changes to the starting line-up from the victory over the Eagles.
Both Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were substituted against Oliver Glasner’s side at the weekend. While Maguire played 85 minutes, Shaw was taken off after just 24 minutes on the clock.
Carrick revealed that the duo were feeling ‘unwell‘ during the game, but a closer look showed that Shaw also sustained a knock to his foot after a rash challenge from Palace right-back Daniel Munoz.
The manager will provide a further update in Tuesday’s presser. We won’t be surprised if Noussair Mazraoui makes his first start under Carrick from the left-back position against the Magpies.
In Patrick Dorgu’s injury absence, Mazraoui came off the bench to replace Shaw against Palace. He had a good outing with a passing accuracy of 93 percent and won 100 percent of his aerial duels.
There could be another change in the backline with Lisandro Martinez being reinstated in central defence ahead of Leny Yoro, who had a nervous start against the Eagles at Old Trafford yesterday.
The French wonderkid failed to keep track of Maxence Lacroix for Palace’s fourth-minute opening goal. Jorgen Strand Larsen also bullied him on numerous occasions in the first half.
Martinez has been nursing a calf injury for the last two matches, but Carrick told MUTV on Friday that it is only a ‘matter of days’ before the Argentine is back in contention to play for the club.
Based on this, the £57 million signing could be reinstated straight into the starting XI alongside Harry Maguire for Wednesday’s much-awaited league encounter on Tyneside.
There is the temptation to play Manuel Ugarte ahead of Casemiro to man-mark Sandro Tonali in the heart of the midfield, but we don’t see that happening from the off on Wednesday.
Ugarte has played just 27 minutes under Carrick. With a 10-day gap before the next fixture against Aston Villa, Casemiro has sufficient time to recover and looks poised to start in midweek.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
Article written by Sri Aswin .