They've got City next week and European games starting in midweek." Prophetic words from Gary Neville in the wake of Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Everton. While it may only be September, he's not wrong. Pressure is on Michael Carrick and suddenly, this week already feels season-defining.
When the 2026/27 Premier League fixture list came out, United were deemed to have had the statistically easiest opening six games. Halfway through, they have dropped more points than they have gained. It only gets tougher from this point on.
As Neville rightly points out, United kickstart their Champions League campaign on Thursday night against Azerbaijan champions Sabah, before the first Manchester derby of the season three days later. Given the nature of the two opponents, you would imagine Carrick will be thinking of rotating on Thursday. That makes it the first time we really see what his squad, rather than his preferred XI, has to offer.
But does he have a good enough crop? Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The general consensus is that United's business in the transfer market has left them short, with a squad that is unable to cope with three games per week due to an over-reliance on the same names. According to Transfermarkt, United actually have the second biggest squad in the Premier League.
However, the balance of that squad is what creates the problem. They rank highest with their depth in forward areas. However, they rank eighth in midfield and 10th in defence.
Take a deeper look into specialist positions and you find they are ninth in right-back depth and 18th at left-back, a position that is constantly being discussed due to Luke Shaw's injury history. They can only blame themselves for that problem, mind you. Only Everton and Liverpool have placed less emphasis on investment in their backline than the Red Devils since 2022.
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