📅 October 21, 2026
Como v Man Utd: Carrick’s 4-2-3-1, De Ligt Starts, Mount and Cunha In
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Michael Carrick has gone with a 4-2-3-1 in Como. Matthijs de Ligt makes his first start since 30 November 2025, Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha come into the side, and Carlos Baleba and Amad drop to the bench. It’s four changes from the 1-1 at Leeds. Como also line up in a 4-2-3-1, so the two sides mirror each other man for man.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, de Ligt, Maguire, Mazraoui; Mount, Santos; Fernandes, Tielemans, Cunha; Mbeumo.
Substitutes: Darlow, Heaton, Amass, Armer, Kamason, Baleba, J Fletcher, T Fletcher, Amad, Lacey, Thompson, Zirkzee.
Como (4-2-3-1): Butez; Couto, RamĂłn, Kempf, Valle; Milla, Perrone; Da Cunha, Paz, Baturina; Douvikas.
Substitutes: Ginelli, Sánchez, Kaiki, Smolcic, Dossena, Caqueret, Liberali, Ricci.
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The back four: de Ligt and Maguire, Dalot back on the right
This back four was forced on Carrick. Leny Yoro is suspended after his red card in Madrid, Lisandro MartĂnez didn’t travel, Ayden Heaven is ill and Luke Shaw is still out. So de Ligt partners Harry Maguire in the middle after more than ten months out with a back injury.
The full-backs have swapped round. At Leeds, ESPN had Yoro at right-back and Diogo Dalot on the left. Tonight ESPN has Dalot at right-back and Noussair Mazraoui at left-back, and Sports Mole’s team sheet lists them the same way. Mazraoui came on for MartĂnez at half-time on Sunday and now gets the start.
The double pivot: Mount next to Santos, probably
This is where the sheets disagree. ESPN, Sports Mole and Football Talk put Mount alongside Andrey Santos at the base of midfield, with Youri Tielemans at ten. Football Italia has Tielemans and Santos as the pair, with Mount in the three behind the striker.
If it’s the first version, that’s a real shift. Baleba and Santos were the pair in Madrid and at Elland Road. Swapping Baleba for Mount makes the pair more of a passer and less of a ball-winner. The trade-off is less protection for a back four that’s been rebuilt around absences. Santos keeps his place either way.
Whichever version is right, the pair in front of the defence will be up against Nico Paz. He’s Como’s ten, with Máximo Perrone and Luis Milla behind him. With both sides in the same shape, that’s the matchup we’d watch.
The front four: Cunha back, Fernandes wide
Bryan Mbeumo leads the line again with Benjamin Sesko still injured. Cunha comes in on the left after starting on the bench in Madrid and at Leeds. Sports Mole and Football Talk list Bruno Fernandes on the right of the three, Tielemans through the middle and Cunha on the left. That’s close to Sunday, when Fernandes was on the left of the three and Amad was on the right. Amad is now on the bench.
The changes Carrick can make from the bench include Baleba, Amad, Joshua Zirkzee, Shea Lacey and Harry Amass. Marcus Rashford isn’t in the squad.
How close we got
Our predicted XI on Tuesday was Lammens; Mazraoui, Maguire, de Ligt, Dalot; Baleba, Santos; Amad, Tielemans, Fernandes; Mbeumo. We got nine of the eleven. The misses were Mount for Baleba and Cunha for Amad. We had Mazraoui at right-back, and he’s on the left.
Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, 5.45pm UK, 12.45pm Eastern. Here’s Sunday’s line-up at Leeds if you want to compare, and the Champions League table. Full report after the whistle.
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Sources: Both line-ups and both benches from Sports Mole and Football Talk, cross-checked against ESPN’s match data and Football Italia. Both 4-2-3-1 formations from ESPN and Football Italia. Positions: ESPN, with Sports Mole’s order of the back four; the midfield disagreement is as described above. Absences from Sports Mole, Football Talk and Yahoo Sports. De Ligt’s last appearance, 30 November 2025, from Yardbarker and United in Focus via our earlier coverage. The Leeds line-up and positions, for the change count, from our own coverage and the Premier League’s match data. Accurate as of kick-off.