Carrick's Full-Back Pairing Face Stern Test Against City's Wingers in Old Trafford Showdown

Michael Carrick's first assignment as interim manager presents an immediate and formidable challenge: Manchester City arrive at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime, and the Red Devils' defensive setup looks decidedly fragile.

The former Middlesbrough manager is expected to deploy a back four, continuing the system Darren Fletcher employed during his brief spell in temporary charge. However, former United defender Paul Parker has raised serious concerns about the full-back pairing likely to start the match.

Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw, tipped to line up as the wing-backs, face a significant pace disadvantage against City's attacking forces. Parker pulled no punches when assessing their prospects.

"The full-backs United have got are going to struggle," he explained. "Dalot and Shaw are going to struggle pace-wise. Because there's no out-and-out defender there, they're going to get exposed in one-against-ones."

The fundamental issue, according to Parker, centres on how Carrick can protect his flanks. Without sufficient defensive cover, United risk being caught in transition, leaving their full-backs isolated in dangerous areas of the pitch.

"You would want one of your wider players helping out, preventing the ball reaching those defenders too far up the park," Parker noted. "When you're compact near goal with more bodies around, that's manageable. But getting caught too far up the pitch in one-on-one situations? That's a massive problem. There's going to be acres of space for runners, and I'm not sure how Carrick will solve that."

Compounding Carrick's selection headache is the unavailability of Noussair Mazraoui. The 28-year-old remains absent due to Morocco's progression to the AFCON final, denying United a key defensive option.

Parker believes Mazraoui would have been the ideal solution to City's threat. "Mazraoui at right-back would be absolutely perfect," he said. "At left-back, he'd be even more perfect against Doku. The stop-starts with Doku—I get groin strains watching him. That's not a winger you want to face as a defender."

Parker's preference would be to face Semenyo rather than Doku on the flank, reflecting just how troublesome City's winger presents as an opponent.