Martinez and 2 Other Changes Carrick Must Make to Man Utd Team vs Leeds

· GiveMeSport

Michael Carrick is going to have to make a few changes to his Man Utd side for this weeend's clash with Leeds United.

Manchester United head into Sunday's Premier League clash with Leeds United desperate for a win, and Michael Carrick's job may yet depend on it. The Red Devils were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the Champions League during the week to continue their disappointing start to the season, and Carrick is already on the brink.

There is already talk of Carrick being replaced should his side suffer a defeat this weekend, with Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler emerging as an apparent target. United have just one win in their first six league games, and they are desperate to avoid the season getting away from them.

Leeds have three points more at this stage, but United need to be winning at Elland Road if they have hope of repeating last season's relative success of finishing inside the top three. Defeat could see United's season spiral, and it could spell the end for Carrick, so what changes does the current Red Devils boss need to make to save his job? Here we take a look based on the starting XI from Tuesday night's defeat to Atletico, and we will leave the poorly performing Diogo Dalot out because of United's problems at right-back, limiting Carrick's options.

Carrick needs to get Bruno Fernandes back to his best position in the attacking midfield after playing him wide against Atletico. Fernandes is not in the best form, but he remains the club's best player, so put him in his best position and give him time to rediscover his form from last season.

Carrick is trying too hard to shoehorn players into positions, and when that means moving Fernandes, it crosses a line. United are also struggling to get good services to their strikers, and it's another reason why Fernandes simply has to play that number 10 role. It's not as though Youri Tielemans is playing well there in any case.

Tielemans could drop into midfield for Andrey Santos or drop out altogether. Neither would be a particularly questionable decision.

This isn't another attack on Rashford because there are worse-performing players in this team, whether United fans like it or not. But the winger is too easy to read, and until he shows he can offer something different, he needs to be coming off the bench.

Matheus Cunha looked sharper after coming off the bench against Atletico, and he needs to come in for Rashford, albeit he will likely play as the striker and with Bryan Mbeumo as the winger. Either way, the attack needs something different.

This has nothing to do with his outburst during the week, which Carrick says has been dealt with. The issue is Martinez's performances. He has been a liability too often, and United are going to need to be physically stronger at Elland Road, and that means the reintroduction of Harry Maguire.

Leny Yoro may have been sent off during the week, but he played well up until that point. Let's see Maguire and Yoro play together to give United a balance of strength and speed without the sacrifice of height and aerial dominance, which is also going to be important against Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is agile on the ground and in the air.

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