Manchester United will host Manchester City in the Manchester Derby on September 13th for the third round of the Premier League. After the Champions League group stage first-round match against Shabab Al Ahli, Manchester United head coach Carrick held the pre-match press conference. After the media embargo expired, the content of the press conference was released. This article covers the first half of the press conference.

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Hi Michael, regarding the forward position, Matheus (Cunha) and Ben (Sesko) clearly have very different understandings of the number 9 role. To what extent does the opponent's playing style influence your considerations when choosing between them? Do you need to specifically work on this in training? Because, in my opinion, their running styles are very different, and is this understanding and chemistry something you constantly have to work on in training?

That's right, they certainly have different strengths and characteristics. I think as a team, the basic principles we try to achieve and the way we try to play will hopefully remain consistent regardless of personnel changes, but different players absolutely offer us different options, if that makes sense.

We still want to play a certain way and try certain tactics, but whether it's Ben, Matheus, Bryan (Mbeumo), Marcus (Rashford), or anyone else in that position, the threats they bring are different. Part of it depends on the opponent's characteristics, and part of it depends on the balance of our own team, as well as the specific areas and spaces we want to attack. Sometimes it's evident when we have the ball, sometimes when we don't have the ball, including the specific areas we need to defend. So there are many layers of factors involved.

By the way, Marcus—I know he wasn't playing tonight, but the fans have been chanting his name, and it feels like he's in great form right now. From your perspective, has everything gone as smoothly as you expected since his return?

I'm very pleased with Marcus, yes. In many ways I'm very pleased with him. I think that's very evident from his performances. In last Sunday's game, he again showed real threat, though it's a pity we couldn't get a better result, but he certainly posed a huge threat. Yes, I'm not sure what else to say—we're just very happy to have him. He's doing very well in many things and has reintegrated into the team very quickly.

Regarding his absence tonight, was it a precautionary measure after he felt something?

Part of it was indeed that, yes. Part of it was precautionary, and also an attempt to reasonably manage the players' workload. We have excellent squad options, so we try to keep everyone fresh, but there's a limit to that. Tonight we also wanted Ben (Sesko) to get enough playing time to get back into rhythm and form as quickly as possible. Balancing these aspects is always a challenge. However, it's good to keep Marcus energetic and ready for the weekend's game.

Speaking of fitness and rotation, you obviously made some rotations in the second half, but how difficult is it to take Bruno (Fernandes) off? He seems to be on the field for every minute of every game. Will there always be a moment in the future when you need to tell him, "Come on, mate, take a break"?

We only have five substitutions, so we have to make clear decisions on our substitution strategy. But there's no doubt that he's like everyone else. He does play an extremely large number of games, but I think we are building and strengthening this team and squad to handle this situation in different ways. Tonight was just one of those situations where a decision had to be made, and he ended up staying on the field.

Regarding team injuries and personnel news for Sunday's game, will anyone be able to return? What's Luke (Shaw)'s current situation?

We'll have to wait and see. We protected and looked after him to a certain extent before tonight's game. He's not 100% yet, so we didn't take the risk. We'll see how his recovery progresses over the next few days.

Hi Michael, your first game in charge of the team was against Manchester City, and most people didn't have very high expectations for you then. I guess now most Manchester United fans' expectations are much higher, not only because Manchester City themselves are undergoing huge changes. How do you view this game? How might it be different from the one you took over in January?

Yes, things will definitely be different since January, for the simple reason that no two games are exactly the same—there can never be two identical games, so this game will definitely be different. I don't think we would ever have the idea that "we won last season, so if we just do the same thing, everything will fall into place."

I understand everyone's expectations for us. Back then, everything was fresh and new. At that time, no one was quite sure what the specific situation would be like or where the team would be heading. The players, perhaps including myself, the coaching staff, and of course you in the media—everyone was waiting to see how things would develop, and the transition was very sudden.

Therefore, I think the confidence we have built up over a period of time, and the feeling that we have been constantly improving, has helped us a lot. We know this is a big game and a crucial one with a lot riding on it. It's obvious to say, but we are very much looking forward to this game. Although we have a short recovery and preparation time, we will make full use of it.

Hi Michael, what challenges will this team led by Enzo Maresca bring? Although only four or five games have been played this season, have you seen any significant differences in this Manchester City compared to when Pep (Guardiola) was in charge?

They are a very good team, and obviously they have achieved some very good results. I think they performed very professionally in the game against Porto a few days ago and efficiently did what they needed to do. Obviously, they have enough players to choose from and rotate, which is their advantage. So yes, they are a strong team. There will be some minor adjustments in the game, which I don't need to go into detail about here, but you try to learn from every game. We know we have to put in an extremely good performance and do many things well to achieve the desired result.

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