Manchester United won 4-0 in Europe on Thursday night and still came out of it with the same problem they carried into the game, availability. Results can flatter the surface. Fitness tells you more. With Manchester City next, Michael Carrick has decisions to make and very little margin for error.
The biggest immediate concern is Luke Shaw. He missed the midweek match after starting United’s first three Premier League games of the season, and while the issue does not look severe, it is enough to put his status for the derby under scrutiny. That matters because Shaw gives United balance on the left, experience in possession and a degree of control that others in the squad do not always provide.
Patrick Dorgu stepped in at left-back and took his chance well, producing a performance that caught the eye and earned the official UEFA player of the match award. Useful for him, useful for Carrick, but the real question remains whether United can afford to go into a Manchester derby without one of their senior defenders.
Luke Shaw fitness latest before Man City
Shaw was not seen in training before the Sabah fixture and his absence was no surprise by kick-off. He had come off after 73 minutes against Everton, officially with cramp, and United chose not to push it. Carrick made the thinking clear before Thursday’s game, saying, “It’s a little bit of that [managing him]. He came off the other day [at Everton] with a little bit of cramp. We didn’t want to take any risks really.
“We tried to manage him so we will see how he is after this one.”
That is sensible, though not especially revealing. At this stage, the expectation is that Shaw still has a chance of making Sunday’s derby. Whether he starts is a different matter. There is a difference between being fit enough for the bench and fit enough to deal with City’s movement for 90 minutes. United host Brighton in the Carabao Cup after that, then travel to Fulham before the international break, so Carrick…
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