Manchester Derby Preview: Carrick Faces Injury Concerns Against Unbeaten City

Michael Carrick faces mounting injury questions as he prepares for the first Manchester derby of the Premier League season, with an unbeaten Manchester City heading to Old Trafford on Sunday (4:30pm BST).

Eight months into the job, and back to where it all really started for him.

Carrick’s milestone, City’s momentum

This fixture was the springboard for Carrick’s rise from caretaker to permanent head coach. Now he meets a City side yet to lose this season, with Enzo Maresca’s team already moving with familiar, ruthless rhythm.

United arrive with mixed signals. A 4-0 dismantling of Sabah in the Champions League showed their attacking edge; a 2-2 draw at Everton in the league underlined lingering fragility. City, by contrast, have been clinical: a 2-0 win over FC Porto in Europe, followed by a controlled 1-0 victory against Coventry City at the Etihad.

The form guide leans blue. The occasion rarely does.

United’s walking wounded

Carrick’s biggest headache is physical, not tactical. His squad is creaking.

Luke Shaw is the main doubt. The 31-year-old has been leaned on heavily despite his patchy injury history, and United are again holding their breath over his fitness.

"We just gave him an extra recovery day today," Carrick said. "We'll see by tomorrow [Friday] how he is, but it's not an ongoing thing or part of a plan.

"It was simply off the back of the game the other day. Each individual has different little things we manage, and Luke was one of them today."

Marcus Rashford trained on Wednesday after going off early against Everton and then sitting out the midweek win over Sabah as an unused substitute. His involvement from the start would give United much-needed pace in transition, but Carrick has already shown he will not gamble recklessly.

Matthijs de Ligt remains the longer-term concern. The Dutch defender has not played since late November and underwent back surgery in May. His name was again absent from the training group, along with Amad, Manuel Ugarte, Tom Heaton and Carlos Baleba.

Carrick insisted de Ligt is edging closer, but not quite over the line.

"It's positive. Matta has trained really well," he said. "When you're out for such a long period and you get to the final stages, you push and push, and you've got to manage that last step. It's important.

"We've got to get that balance right. He's on a good track, in a good place, and it's great to have him back around us - hopefully it'll be sometime soon."

United know “sometime soon” does not help them on Sunday.

City near full strength

Across the city, the picture is clearer.

Maresca will again be without Jeremy Doku, the winger still sidelined after feeling tightness in his calf during the first half of the Community Shield against Arsenal. The issue was not classed as serious, but it has already ruled him out of City’s opening four matches, with Maresca stressing the Belgian "needs more days."

The pressure on City’s medical staff has eased thanks to a key boost elsewhere. Nico O’Reilly, who pulled out of the warm-up before the Coventry game last weekend, is ready to return.

As Maresca put it, O’Reilly is now "100% available," leaving Doku as City’s only absentee.

So the stage is set: Carrick juggling bodies, Maresca almost at full tilt, Old Trafford braced for the first collision of Manchester’s season.

Unbeaten City, bruised but dangerous United. Which version of Carrick’s team walks out on Sunday – and which one walks back down the tunnel?