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Michael Carrick now knows nine starters for Man United's first game of 2026/27

· Steven Railston · 2026-08-16T05:09:35+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Michael Carrick now knows nine starters for Manchester United's first game of 2026/27 Man Utd played their final pre-season game against AC Milan on Saturday, and Michael Carrick dropped some selection hints ahead of the opener vs Hull next week. Take a good look at the Manchester United team photo before they faced AC Milan in their final pre-season game of the summer. That is close to the team Michael Carrick will pick for the opening Premier League game against Hull, which is now just six days away. Carrick made plenty of changes for the Leeds friendly in Dublin, starting two academy players, but he went full strength against Milan in Wroclaw, almost mirroring what he is expected to go with for the Hull clash. Senne Lammens is nailed on to start between the sticks. He made a brilliant point-blank save to deny Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the first half against Milan and looks primed for another great season as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. Ayden Heaven was given the nod to start alongside Harry Maguire in central defence. Heaven has played a prominent role in pre-season and looks set to start over Leny Yoro, who has occasionally played as a right-back. The presumption heading into pre-season was that Yoro would be one of the first names on the team sheet for the opening Premier League game when the summer ended, but Heaven looks to be in pole position. Lisandro Martinez, who was introduced at the hour mark against Milan, will be eased back into the team after reporting late to pre-season due to making the World Cup final with Argentina. The reason why Martinez will not start against Hull was laid bare when Milan scored their fourth goal. He was pulled out of position, caught on his heels, and could not recover as Loftus-Cheek burst forward. He understandably looked rusty. Luke Shaw is guaranteed to start at left-back, but which player starts at right-back, one of the two positions that appear undecided, may go down to who shows more in training at Carrington in the build-up to the game. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot returned for pre-season at the same time. There is not much between them in terms of fitness, but Carrick started the latter against Milan, perhaps an indicator that he will start against Hull next weekend. The other spot that seems undecided is the third midfield role alongside Bruno Fernandes and Andrey Santos. Mason Mount was the favourite for that starting role, but a small niggle kept him out against Leeds and Milan, which handed the momentum to Youri Tielemans. Tielemans showed what he can offer in Wroclaw. He has quickly formed a relationship with Fernandes, and he was denied a likely assist in the first half when he played a line-breaking pass, only for the offside flag to be raised. It would be harsh for Mount to be named on the bench against Hull, provided he's available, given he was the standout performer of pre-season before his small knock, but perhaps Tielemans has the advantage now. Amad and Dorgu played on the right and left wings respectively against Milan, and they are shoo-ins to play in those roles next weekend. Matheus Cunha started the game down the middle, but he's not close to peak fitness, unlike Bryan Mbeumo, who has been excellent in that role all summer. Mbeumo was merely rested against Milan. He's as good as guaranteed to start up front against Hull considering Cunha is still working up his match fitness, and Benjamin Sesko has not played a single minute in pre-season due to a shin injury. The close-to-confirmed nine starters vs Hull: Lammens, Heaven, Maguire, Shaw, Santos, Fernandes, Amad, Mbeumo, Dorgu.