Man United vs Man City live: Michael Carrick prepares for derby test on Old Trafford return | OneFootball

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Manchester Utd interim head coach Michael Carrick on role and latest ahead of City clash

Michael Carrick’s interim reign at Manchester United kicks off with the visit of fierce rivals Manchester City as the former midfielder looks to spark a change in fortunes at Old Trafford.

Carrick took the reins from caretaker boss and ex-teammate Darren Fletcher on Tuesday after the Scotsman failed to deliver a win in his two games in charge, with United looking to get their push for Champions League qualification back on track after the sacking of Ruben Amorim.

The hosts will climb into the top four, at least temporarily, with victory in the Manchester derby but may face a tough challenge against a motivated Man City, who are keen to reignite their title charge.

A run of three consecutive draws has allowed Arsenal to pull away from Pep Guardiola’s side, but after the Gunners were held by Liverpool on Monday, City have a chance to close the gap to three points and ramp up the pressure ahead of the league leaders’ trip to Nottingham Forest later in the day.

Pep believes midfielders make the best coaches

Pep Guardiola was also full of praise for his opposite manager today.

The Spaniard revealed that Michael Carrick’s role as a holding midfielder makes him an ideal candidate to become a successful manager and Guardiola believes the players with the best view of how matches play out have better insights when it comes to management.

“I would say maybe central defenders and holding midfielders, because of their position, have a better global vision than playing as a winger for example,” he revealed.

“I’m not saying that a winger cannot read perfectly the game but it’s different. All I can say is Michael [Carrick] as a player was extraordinary.”

(Getty Images)

Guardiola on handling Carrick's United

Pep Guardiola would have liked a bit more time to study how Manchester United will play under Michael Carrick and says his team must adapt to how the new boss sets up their opponents today.

“When you have more info of what the opposition manager does, you can give more info to the players,” the City boss said.

“When you don’t have any info, you can’t give any info to the players so you focus on yourself.

“Maybe with the line-up [announced] tomorrow we will have an idea, you can see what he did at Middlesbrough or the first part at Man United, but tactics are about the players and who they have will be different to Middlesbrough. So what they are going to do I don’t know.”

'I thought we're in trouble'

Pep Guardiola says his first instinct when realising that Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol were both injured was that the team ‘was in trouble’.

However, Max Alleyne has stepped into the hole left by the two defenders and has performed admirably limiting the damage losing the centre-backs has made.

“What I thought? We’re in trouble, that was my first thought,” Guardiola said of losing his defenders.

“But that’s why we had the option to recover loan players. I knew Max from training for two years with us.

“He still has a big margin to improve but in general comparing not sessions because we don’t have them but from video, how quick he got the things is really, really good.”

(REUTERS)

Mike Jones17 January 2026 10:18

Man Utd to get 'fresh start' under Carrick

The new United boss says that he hopes to bring a ‘fresh start’ for the players and has belief in their ability to perform in the Premier League.

“It's a fresh start, and I've got a lot of belief in the group, individually, and collectively,” said Michael Carrick ahead of today’s game.

“I've got a lot of belief in that, and as I've just said, confidence and a feeling, and things can go in a different direction very quickly, and I've got a lot of belief in the boys.

“I think it’s so half-full, half-empty, it’s what players can't do or the team can't do, we actually forget what they can do, what they're good at and believe in that and work on their strengths and feed off that energy to make you better.

“There's a lot of players and a lot of teams in the world that can't do things, but that doesn't stop them being successful. So, we need to find that ingredient, and I fully believe we can do that.”

(Manchester United via Getty Imag)

Carrick 'realistic' about Man Utd role

Michael Carrick is not thinking about taking on the Manchester United head coach role on a long term basis and says he is realistic about the goals the club want from him.

“I think we're realistic as well, and where we are at the moment, why I'm here and the role I've got to do,” Carrick explained.

“That doesn't change how we go about it in the day-to-day and the focus and making decisions for the long-term kind of strategy of the group and the playing squad and whatever that kind of adds on extra and the layers after that.

“I think I'm certainly not coming in thinking it's a time where week-to-week, game-to-game, we've got to get through it and we've got to tick each one off. I think we're on a plan to improve and improve beyond this season, and however that looks at this moment, all I can control is what we give the players and how we kind of create the atmosphere around the group.

“So that's the main focus and then we'll see what happens after that.”

Mike Jones17 January 2026 10:06

How Manchester United’s behind-the-scenes reset heaps the spotlight onto their next permanent manager

As Manchester United properly begin the process of appointing a new head coach, one consideration now stands above many others: how a manager looks and feels the moment he “walks in the door”.

It may sound simplistic, but as they found with Ruben Amorim, it remains hugely significant. The club’s leadership – and especially Sir Jim Ratcliffe – believed the Portuguese coach had the personality to carry the weight of such a club. Over time, however, sources say they came to feel he lacked the necessary “emotional maturity”. He simply was not ready.

How United’s reset heaps the spotlight onto their next permanent manager

Old Trafford’s hierarchy are looking for a strong personality to lead the team, says Miguel Delaney in the latest Inside Football newsletter, confident that a quiet but significant transformation behind the scenes has finally changed the environment they are stepping into

Miguel Delaney17 January 2026 10:00

Guardiola 'surprised' by makeshift defence

Pep Guardiola says he was ‘surprised’ by how well Manchester City’s makeshift defence, including Max Alleyne and Abdukodir Khusanov as a centre-back pairing, have worked together.

“It’s surprised even me how connected they are and how they help each other. It’s been tough games,” said Guardiola.

“Brighton was a debut for Max and then of course Exeter was a little bit different for the result and then Newcastle away. They were brilliant.

“At the beginning of the season, if you tell me at this important part of the season that this would be the back four I’d say ‘are you sure?’

“But the season is never flat or on the same path, you have to handle it. Nico’s already played many times there; Nathan can play there.

“I’m happy Rayan Ait-Nouri is back, he has incredible special quality not just in the final third but in the build up to help us a lot.

“Khusanov, when he has played this season, he was injured against Arsenal and was out many times, he’s important for us. He’s behaved really well.”