Michael Carrick spells out Leeds United threat ahead of showdown

Manchester United caretaker boss Michael Carrick has outlined exactly what he expects from Leeds United ahead of Monday’s showdown.

By the time United face Leeds, they will have gone 24 days without a match. During that stretch, several players travelled for international duty, while the team also flew to Dublin, Ireland, for a four-day intensive training camp. United are firmly on course to secure a return to the Champions League and a victory against their historic rivals will go a long way towards achieving this objective.

Ahead of the fixture, Carrick spoke to club media and broke down Leeds’ strengths. He also spoke about fifth spot being enough to get into the Champions League and how the team has prepared.

Carrick said, “I think they are a really good team. I think Daniel [Farke] has adapted from when they were in the Championship and I was at Middlesbrough. They are a really dangerous team who have evolved in certain things, adapted in certain things.”

“But I think they have had a really good season and they don’t give a lot away, especially recently. They have defended really well and it will be a tough game, a really tough game.”

On returning to action after such a lengthy pause, Carrick explained, “We can’t wait. It’s been a strange couple of weeks for us and the boys that have been here, for some of the boys it has been normal going away on international break.”

“It doesn’t feel as big of a deal if you just look at it instead of going it’s been 24 days in-between games as there has been a lot going on between it. I have to say the lads have come back together this week and there has been a real nice freshness and a good feeling, an energetic, positive vibe going around, which is really good.”

“We are definitely looking forward to it and it can’t come quick enough now.”

He added about the fixture, “I know, I only ever played in the one League Cup game, which was away. I didn’t play in the FA Cup game which was at Old Trafford, but I am fully aware of the history and I have watched plenty of games in the past. I know what it means to so many people, the supporters and the rivalry, it’s great.”

“It’s part of football and why we love it. For us going against them and them coming against us, we are really looking forward to the game. Every game is a little bit different, some more normal than others, but when some have a little bit of a twist and bit of difference about it, you have to embrace it and this is certainly one of them.”

Carrick confirmed that Diogo Dalot is back with the group, having missed the training camp in Dublin with illness.

He said about the squad, “We are in good shape. The boys came back generally from internationals in a good way, so that is pleasing, especially when they go away and play so many games.”

“When you have so many that go away, you are always hoping they come back okay and for the most part they have, so we are happy with that.”

Asked for his thoughts on the Premier League having five confirmed Champions League spots, Carrick answered, “It’s great. It’s where we want to be, first and foremost, not so much the other teams but it is important. The more opportunities we have for that, the better.”

“We would obviously like to finish as high up the league as we possibly can and to have so many English teams involved in it and in that competition, pushing, it then benefits the teams in the league and overall it is fantastic. But overall, we get quite selfish when it comes to things like that. It is where we want to be for ourselves more than anything.”

United vs. Leeds kicks off at 20:00 GMT.

Featured image George Wood via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social