Michael Carrick sacrifices one Man Utd star with proven formula back for Aston Villa clash | OneFootball

Manchester United’s loss to Newcastle United was damaging in more ways than one, and now Michael Carrick has gone back to his winning formula.

Interim boss Carrick could do no wrong in his first few weeks in the role, winning six of his first seven Premier League games in charge.

Several simple changes regarding team selection and formation have contributed to a remarkable turnaround in Man Utd‘s fortunes that increased the clamour for INEOS to appoint Carrick permanently.

However, United and Carrick crashed down to earth in last week’s 2-1 loss to 10-man Newcastle United, with this result and the poor performance fuelling fresh talk of who could replace the interim boss at the end of this season.

Man Utd’s display against Newcastle was easily the worst of Carrick’s tenure, but they also flattered to deceive in the previous three games against West Ham, Everton and Crystal Palace.

Therefore, a refresh is needed for Sunday’s important home game against top-four rivals Aston Villa, with a victory to leave Man Utd in an incredibly strong position in the race for Champions League qualification.

And Carrick has made two changes from the side that started against Newcastle for the Aston Villa clash.

One is somewhat enforced as Diogo Dalot replaces Noussair Mazraoui, who is benched after picking up a knock last week. The other sees in-form striker Benjamin Sesko return to the bench and be replaced by Amad Diallo.

This is somewhat harsh on Sesko, who has six goals in his last eight Premier League appearances, but it is a worthwhile sacrifice to ensure Man Utd’s attack functions better.

The Newcastle game marked the first time that Carrick had started Sesko against a so-called Big Eight side, with the interim boss previously opting for a fluid front four of Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and captain Bruno Fernandes.

These players combined to cause Man City, Arsenal and Spurs no end of problems in United’s three victories, but Sesko’s good run of form seemingly blinded Carrick as he opted against using this proven formula for success against strong opposition when they faced Newcastle.

And given how ineffective Man Utd were with Sesko leading the attack against Newcastle, it is not surprising that Carrick has reverted to what has worked previously for the Aston Villa game.

Man Utd are also boosted by Mason Mount returning to the bench after a six-game absence. Speaking on the midfielder on Friday, Carrick said: “Mason’s back with the group, which is fantastic.

“He’s an important player for us, Mason, and to have him back and involved I think is a good step for us definitely.

“He’s not 100 per cent in terms of (being) back because he’s only trained with us a very small amount of time, but he’s back and that’s good for us.

“We’ll see whether he’s involved or not on Sunday but it’s a big step for him, so we’re happy with that. That’s it in terms of players coming back for now.”