Carrick’s first two games as United’s head coach are a difficult challenge, against the two best teams in the league at present, Manchester City and Arsenal.
At Middlesbrough, Carrick was reluctant to change his system, looking to dominate the game through high possession.
When he was United’s interim boss in 2021 he faced Thomas Tuchel, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta, winning twice and drawing once, and changing the system each game in a pragmatic manner.
The most significant tweak was in how his United side nullified Tuchel’s Chelsea with a 4-3-1-2 defensive shape that blocked the centre of the pitch. Speaking on Match of the Day earlier this season, Carrick said that his rationale was to stop all access to Tuchel’s midfield two because their progression was typically through the middle.
United’s narrow front three stopped passes into Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek while the physical centre-midfielders in Scott McTominay and Fred tracked and pressed Chelsea’s wing-backs.
To ensure United kept three in midfield when McTominay or Fred pressed, the other two midfielders would shift over and the far-side attacker would drop in.
The game ended 1-1 with Chelsea’s only goal coming from a penalty.
With only two games this month there is a chance Carrick alters his approach from the one he used weekly at Middlesbrough in order to nullify Arsenal and Manchester City’s biggest strengths, as he did when he first took charge of United.