📅 November 3, 2026
Manchester United v Roma Preview: Carrick’s First of Two, and Roma Are Short in Midfield
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Manchester United host Roma at Old Trafford tonight in the Champions League, and it’s the first of the two games Michael Carrick has reportedly been given to keep his job. Kick-off is 8pm in the UK, 3pm ET. United haven’t won in nine games in all competitions. Roma are third in Serie A and arrive on a five-game unbeaten run.
Our view: this is a better draw for United than the league table suggests. Roma are short in exactly the area where United’s best player lives, and their manager has said so in public.
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Where Carrick stands
The Guardian and The Athletic both reported over the weekend that Carrick stays for Roma and Aston Villa, with his position reviewed after that, as we covered on Sunday. The club hasn’t said anything publicly. The Guardian also reported that Jason Wilcox has Eddie Howe top of his shortlist.
Asked on Monday whether he had two games left, Carrick said “No, not at all”, then added: “I don’t know what’s going to happen.” He also said: “You might think I’m crazy with the results we’ve had and what’s going on, but I genuinely can’t wait.” The rest of that press conference, Mainoo included, is in our write-up from this morning.
The league position is the backdrop. United are 17th with seven points from nine games, and they lost 2-0 at Chelsea on Saturday after Lisandro Martínez gave away a penalty and was sent off in the space of 83 seconds. In Europe they’ve got three points from three games: the 4-0 win over Sabah, then defeats at Atlético Madrid and Como. Only the top 24 go through, so nothing is lost yet, but a third defeat in four would leave United chasing it in December and January.
Roma: good form, thin midfield
Roma won 5-2 at Udinese on Saturday, which took them third in Serie A, one point off the top, according to Goal and Football Italia. Their only defeat of the season came at home to Real Madrid in this competition, 4-3. They’ve got four points from three Champions League games after a draw with Fenerbahçe and a 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava.
The problem is the squad. Paulo Dybala, Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini are all out, and Gian Piero Gasperini said on Monday that he has 17 players available and had to call up youth-team players to fill the travelling party. “In midfield we’re short,” he said. “I hope it’s just a passing phase.” First-choice goalkeeper Mile Svilar is also missing, according to Sports Mole and Cult of Calcio, so Roma are likely to start a back-up in goal.
Their danger is Donyell Malen, who’s expected to lead the line. Gasperini named Santiago Castro as the alternative up front. Both Sports Mole and Cult of Calcio predict the same Roma side: Gollini; N’Dicka, Mancini, Hermoso; Molina, De Roon, Pisilli, Wesley; Cristante, Soulé; Malen.
Gasperini isn’t reading anything into United’s league form. “United are still a strong team, they have players of absolute quality, and it’s a hot, difficult environment,” he said. “We’re preparing as if we’re facing the best Manchester United.”
United team news
Carrick ruled out Luke Shaw (“Luke definitely won’t be around this week”) and Patrick Dorgu, who’s back in training but “won’t be involved tomorrow.” Benjamin Sesko is out until at least January. Marcus Rashford is day by day, and Leny Yoro has “a bit of tendon” pain that Carrick said he’s been managing.
Martínez’s ban is domestic, so he’s available tonight and serves it against Villa on Sunday. Amad came off injured at Chelsea but trained on Monday, as the club and PA reported.
How we’d line up
Lammens; Yoro, Maguire, Martínez, Dalot; Mainoo, Santos; Amad, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo.
That’s the side that started at Chelsea with one change: Mainoo in for Baleba. Roma’s predicted central pair is De Roon and Pisilli, with Cristante pushed up behind Malen, and the best way to hurt that is to put Bruno Fernandes between their lines with Mainoo receiving under pressure behind him. If Yoro’s tendon flares, Noussair Mazraoui goes to right-back. Sports Mole’s predicted United XI goes another way, with Mazraoui, Tielemans and Mount in for Yoro, Amad and Cunha.
Martínez starts for us because the alternative is Ayden Heaven or Matthijs de Ligt with no rhythm, not because Saturday is forgotten. He’ll be on a short leash.
The 2007 ghost
Carrick scored twice in the 7-1 quarter-final win over Roma at Old Trafford in April 2007. “It was one of the best nights, one of the best games, one of the best atmospheres I’ve been fortunate enough to witness,” he said on Monday. United have won all four of Roma’s previous visits to Old Trafford, by Cult of Calcio’s count, including the 6-2 in the 2021 Europa League semi-final.
History won’t win tonight. It’s a reminder of what this ground can do to a visiting side with a thin bench.
Our call
United get something. Roma are the better team on current form and we expect them to score. But Gasperini is two midfielders short, and Fernandes against De Roon and Pisilli is a matchup United should win. A draw keeps Carrick in place for Villa. A win buys him the international break.
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Sources: Gasperini’s quotes, Roma’s absences, the 17 available players, youth call-ups and third place one point off the top from Football Italia via Yahoo Sports and third place from Goal, both 2 November, with the 17 also on AS Roma’s site. Carrick’s quotes from AFP via the Jamaica Observer and Football Italia, 2-3 November. Roma’s results, Svilar’s absence and both predicted line-ups from Sports Mole and Cult of Calcio; the Old Trafford record is Cult of Calcio’s. Roma’s only defeat being Real Madrid from AFP via Malay Mail. United’s league position, the Chelsea game, the nine-game run and the Carrick review from our earlier coverage. We’ve left out United’s Champions League table position (outlets disagree between 20th and 21st) and how far back the winless run is a club record (AP and AFP give different years). The line-up and the call are our own.