Manchester United's Derby Dilemma: Carrick Faces Selection Decisions
Manchester United’s forwards are queuing up for a shot at the derby – and Michael Carrick suddenly has decisions to make.
Four goals against Sabah in the Champions League blew away some early-season gloom, a 4-0 win that felt like a release as much as a result. Now comes something far more serious: Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday, the first Premier League derby of the season and a far sharper test of where this United side really are.
Carrick vs Maresca, Part Two
The last time these clubs met in the league, Carrick had just stepped back into the Old Trafford dugout. That day, United beat City 2-0 and the mood around the club flipped almost overnight. It was the kind of result that buys a manager time and belief.
This weekend, the narrative shifts. Enzo Maresca will experience his first Manchester derby as City boss. He knows Old Trafford already, and not fondly – his Chelsea team lost 2-1 there in September 2025. He returns now off the back of a hard-earned European win over Porto, looking to plant an early marker in the title race and in the city.
United, by contrast, limp into the derby in the league. One win from their first three Premier League games leaves them playing catch-up. Even if they beat City, they still won’t climb above their neighbours in the table. Carrick didn’t sugar-coat it after the Sabah win.
“Results-wise, it hasn't been the start we wanted, we wanted more points in the league,” he admitted. The Champions League rout eased the pressure. It didn’t erase it.
Rashford’s future, Gabriel’s present
Around Old Trafford, the attacking conversation keeps circling back to two names: Marcus Rashford and JJ Gabriel. Ironically, both could find themselves watching from the bench when the teams walk out on Sunday.
Rashford’s situation remains one of the more intriguing subplots of United’s season. He hit double figures for both goals and assists on loan at Barcelona last term, a productive spell that, on paper, looked like it should lead to a permanent move. It didn’t.
Instead, Barça turned to another English winger: Anthony Gordon. Their sporting director Deco has now spelled out why.
“One of the things we saw that was difficult last year was the fact that, when we were without Raphinha, the team's energy seemed to drop,” he told Marca. The search focused on wide players, but the Premier League market, he stressed, is brutal: “We looked at many wingers, but signing players in the Premier League is almost impossible, you see the figures involved.
“He (Gordon) was the profile that best fit. The great advantage is that the players are excited to come to our project.”
It was a blunt message. Rashford delivered numbers, but Barça wanted a different profile and a different type of intensity on the flank. So he is back in Manchester, part of Carrick’s attacking puzzle rather than the centrepiece of a rebuild in Catalonia.
Just behind him in the queue, JJ Gabriel is pushing from the other direction.
The teenage forward lit up pre-season with a taste of senior involvement, then underlined his potential with a hat-trick against Sabah in the UEFA Youth League. Still, he waits for a competitive first-team debut. United are excited, but they are not rushing.
Academy coach Adam Lawrence laid out the thinking.
“JJ is surrounded by people that really believe in him,” he said. “From the top of the club right the way through. Where he's been at the club for so long, he's got good relationships with the players, with the staff.
“Over the course of time that helps as well. At the moment just in terms of his game, his games programme, his training programme, making sure that he's getting the right exposure across different levels.
“We’re obviously not perfect but it's definitely something we put a lot of thought into. So yeah, it's good to see him just enjoying his football and in a good place for sure.”
The message is clear: the pathway exists, but it will be managed carefully. Gabriel is close enough to feel it, not close enough yet to demand it.
Derby selection dilemmas
All of that feeds into Sunday. Carrick suddenly has a front line humming with confidence after Sabah, a seasoned international whose future was questioned in Spain, and a homegrown prodigy fresh from a European hat-trick at youth level.
Only so many can start.
United’s league form means the derby carries more weight than usual this early in the season. City arrive with a new man on the touchline but the same expectations. United arrive with a manager who has already beaten them once and a squad still trying to prove that result was the start of something, not a one-off.
Somewhere in that mix, Carrick must decide how much he trusts Rashford right now, and how quickly he wants to open the door for Gabriel.
The Champions League let United flex. The derby will reveal how far that swagger really stretches.
