Manchester United open their Premier League campaign this weekend with a trip to the MKM Stadium to face newly-promoted Hull City, as Michael Carrick begins his first full season in permanent charge of the club. The match follows Arsenal’s comfortable win over Coventry on the opening night of the season, setting an early benchmark for the rest of the division.
Hull return to English football’s top flight for the first time since 2016/17 after securing promotion through the Championship play-offs, defeating Middlesbrough having finished only sixth in the table last season. Sergej Jakirovic’s side head into the fixture as one of the favourites for relegation, but a positive start could help settle nerves in what promises to be a difficult campaign.
Carrick, who took permanent charge after an impressive interim spell that ended with United finishing third last season and qualifying for the Champions League, has used the summer to reshape his midfield. Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos have both arrived and are in line for debuts, while Carlos Baleba's move from Brighton is expected to be finalised imminently, though the Cameroon international will not be involved for some time due to an ankle ligament injury sustained in pre-season. The deal for Baleba is reportedly worth an initial £65m, with a further £5m in potential add-ons.
Discussing the club's transfer business, Carrick said: “As I said before, we're trying to improve the squad all the time, you know. We're working towards that. I think largely we've got a really good balance within the group. As it stands now, we've got some very good, top midfielders to choose from. So I think we've improved that. As I said, since the start of the window to the end, we'll see what happens, you know. As I said, we want to finish stronger as the window closes, so we're working towards that.”
Marcus Rashford, back at Old Trafford following a loan spell at Barcelona, has been handed the number nine shirt, previously worn by Rasmus Hojlund, who left permanently for Napoli this summer. Rashford is expected to be among the substitutes on Saturday as he continues working back to full match sharpness, having last featured competitively for United in December 2024.
United will be without several players through injury. Mason Mount is unable to feature because of a foot issue picked up in a pre-season draw with Paris Saint-Germain, while Manuel Ugarte remains out long-term following knee surgery. Matthijs de Ligt has returned to training but is not expected back until October. Benjamin Sesko, meanwhile, is pushing for involvement having recently returned to training despite missing the entirety of pre-season with a shin problem.
Hull face a significant injury list of their own as they prepare for their first top-flight match in a decade. Goalkeeper Jack Butland, along with defenders John Egan, Cody Drameh, Charlie Hughes and Jens Hjertø-Dahl, are unavailable, as are midfielders Darko Gyabi, Oscar Zambrano and Matty Jacob, and forwards Liam Millar and Joe Gelhardt.
Despite the selection headaches, Jakirovic insists his squad is adapting well to life in the Premier League. “We used the last two friendlies to get them some minutes. My job is to find a good balance with the players from last year in the Championship and the new arrivals so far, so good. We’ve had good training sessions and individual analysis after sessions to show principles of what we need to do in some positions so a lot of work, but they are intelligent,” he said.
Former England striker Alan Shearer, speaking to Betfair, backed United for a strong campaign under Carrick, tipping them to finish fourth this season behind Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. “I think it's going to be a different season for Man United, Michael Carrick has done a very good job,” Shearer said. “He deserves the chance to go again. I know the Baleba transfer is still ongoing, but Man United will have too much for Hull.”
Kick-off at the MKM Stadium is set for the lunchtime slot, live on TNT Sports in the UK.
Based on reporting from The Independent and Standard.