Why Carrick has to make his first change in three matches for maiden Hill Dickinson trip – opinion | OneFootball

Ahead of Manchester United’s maiden trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday, Benjamin Sesko has put forward his case to start for the first time under Michael Carrick.

Since taking the reins in the aftermath of Ruben Amorim’s dismissal and Darren Fletcher’s brief spell as caretaker manager, Carrick has made one stance abundantly clear in his philosophy: if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

In the five matches he has overseen in the Red Devils dugout, he has made just one, sole change to his five starting line-ups –  and it’s one that he was forced into.

Carrick isn’t favouring changes in his line-ups

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Indeed, the only tactical tweak that Carrick made was when Matheus Cunha replaced Patrick Dorgu in the XI after the Dane suffered a lengthy hamstring injury, one that is expected to keep him sidelined for a total of 10 weeks.

Prior to the untimely setback, Dorgu was enjoying his most eye-catching form in a United shirt and had just scored in consecutive games against the top two in the Premier League, Arsenal and Manchester City.

Cunha has since filled the void almost seamlessly, in fairness to him. The summer signing has found his feet and is now on six goals and two assists in 23 league appearances for the club.

Yet, neither he, Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes nor Amad Diallo were able to find the back of the net when United’s unbeaten streak was on the verge of ending last week.

Why Sesko should be in from the off on Merseyside

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

When they were trailing until the very dying embers of their clash with West Ham, it was substitute Sesko who came to the rescue by netting a jaw-dropping finish past Mads Hermansen to clinch a vital point in the top-four race.

The 22-year-old’s equaliser looked near-impossible from the angle he was at, yet he displayed his clinicality in still finding the space to fire his effort on target.

Sesko, a 45-capped Slovenian international, has taken his tally up to seven goals – six in the league and one in the FA Cup – in his debut season in England, so is it time that he’s given the nod to make his impact under Carrick from the off?

Doing so against the Toffees while his stocks are so high seems like a golden opportunity for him to gain even more confidence.

Additionally, David Moyes’ Everton side have failed to win in three of their last five outings, meaning the players’ confidence might have taken a hit before they host Carrick’s revitalised Reds.