📅 September 16, 2026
Confirmed: Darlow Debuts, Lacey Starts, Bruno and Mainoo on the Bench v Brighton
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Karl Darlow makes his Manchester United debut. Shea Lacey starts. Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo all begin on the bench. United and Brighton are both heavily changed for the Carabao Cup third round at Old Trafford, kick-off 8pm UK, 3pm Eastern.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Darlow; Dalot, Yoro, Heaven, Mazraoui; Santos, Tielemans; Lacey, Mount, Rashford; Sesko.
Substitutes: Lammens, Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Mainoo, Tyler Fletcher, Amass, Mbeumo, Zirkzee, Cunha.
Brighton (3-4-2-1): Steele; Vuskovic, Struijk, Boscagli; Costinha, Andres, Gross, Hadjam; O’Riley, Yalcouye; Kostoulas.
Substitutes: Verbruggen, Kadioglu, Dunk, De Cuyper, Ayari, Gomez, Osman, Rutter, David.
Darlow, finally
He signed from Leeds in July, he is 35, and until tonight he hadn’t played a minute for the club. In the matchday programme he said he wanted to “do myself justice on the pitch when I’m asked to play”. A third-round tie is what a second goalkeeper’s signed for, and Senne Lammens drops to the bench after starting every game so far.
Lacey gets the night
Shea Lacey starts in the front three alongside Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford, with Benjamin Sesko through the middle. Tyler Fletcher and Harry Amass are on the bench, so three academy players are involved in the squad.
That’s the part worth watching. Bruno, Mbeumo and Cunha are being held back with Fulham away on Sunday, so the attack tonight is Rashford, Mount, Sesko and a teenager.
What it says about the week
Eight changes from the side that lost the derby on Sunday: only Dalot, Tielemans and Rashford keep their places. Maguire, Bruno and Mainoo are all on the bench, so the strong finish is there if this gets awkward.
Luke Shaw is not in the squad. Carrick said on Tuesday that he “could possibly be fit for Brighton but we’ll see” and that it was “a matter of a few days”. This is the third match running he has missed entirely. Amad Diallo, Matthijs de Ligt, Manuel Ugarte and Carlos Baleba are all out.
Brighton have changed too
Fabian Hurzeler makes his own rotation: Jason Steele in goal instead of Bart Verbruggen, a back three of Luka Vuskovic, Pascal Struijk and Olivier Boscagli, and 19-year-old Chema Andres in midfield next to Pascal Gross. Lewis Dunk, Georginio Rutter, Maxim De Cuyper and Diego Gomez are all on the bench.
They arrive fifth in the Premier League and as the division’s top scorers, three days after putting five past Coventry. On paper it’s Brighton’s reserves against United’s reserves, and Brighton’s reserves have been scoring freely.
The stakes
The winner’s in the fourth-round draw. United have won this competition six times, most recently in 2023, and went out at the first hurdle in both domestic cups last season. Brighton have been past the third round once in the last six seasons.
Old Trafford gets the academy trio, a debutant goalkeeper, and a bench stacked with the players who’re supposed to be fixing the league season. How Carrick uses that bench tells you what he thinks this competition’s worth.
Team news, the head-to-head and how to watch are in our preview. Full report here after the whistle.
Sources: Both line-ups, formations and benches from SofaScore’s confirmed team-sheet feed for the fixture (event 16950630), taken at 7pm UK. Carrick’s Shaw quote from his pre-match press conference on 15 September 2026, via Goal. Darlow’s quote from United Review, Vol 88 Issue 04. Brighton’s league position and their 5-0 at Coventry from Sports Illustrated’s preview. Accurate as of kick-off, 16 September 2026.