Manchester United boss Michael Carrick has conceded his side’s preparations for Sunday’s Manchester derby are far from perfect, with Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City squad benefiting from two extra days of recovery before the Old Trafford clash.
City wrapped up their midweek fixture list with a comfortable 2-0 win over Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The result allowed Maresca’s players to fly home and shift their focus fully towards the trip across Manchester.
With four clear days between the final whistle in Portugal and Sunday’s 4:30pm kick-off, City arrive at Old Trafford with a noticeably lighter load on their legs than their neighbours.
United, by contrast, have no such luxury. Carrick’s side host Azerbaijani champions Sabah in the Champions League on Thursday night, leaving barely 48 hours to recover, regroup and prepare before facing City.
It is a stark contrast to City’s situation, and one that has not gone unnoticed inside United’s camp.
Asked directly about City’s extra recovery time, Carrick did not shy away from the topic, according to a report by Read Man City.
Carrick: ‘We’ve Got to Deal with the Cards We’re Dealt’
“I’m not concerned,” Carrick said. “I wouldn’t say it’s ideal in some ways, but it’s not something that we’ve given too much thought about.
“We’re not in control of that. We’ve got to deal with the cards that we’re dealt, and that’s what it is, so we’ll make the most of it.”
Last term, United played just 40 matches across all competitions after missing out on European football altogether. This season is shaping up very differently.
Should they progress to the quarter-final stage of the Carabao Cup, United could find themselves playing on a near-weekly midweek basis all the way through to January, a workload that will test squad depth as much as it tests recovery windows.
Manchester City, meanwhile, have navigated the opening weeks of the season with minimal fuss. Their victory over Porto continued an encouraging start to life under Maresca, the Italian having taken charge of the club over the summer following a summer of transition at the Etihad.
The result also extended a positive run heading into the derby, with City’s attention now turning squarely to a fixture that will represent Maresca’s first taste of Manchester’s biggest rivalry as a head coach.
The fixture itself carries significance well beyond recovery days. Sunday’s meeting is historically one of the most fiercely contested occasions in English football, and neither side will want questions of preparation time to overshadow the action on the pitch.
Carrick, a former United midfielder who knows precisely what these occasions mean to supporters on both sides of the city, appeared keen to play down any suggestion that City’s rest advantage would be used as a crutch should results not go United’s way.
However, it should be noted that fine margins have decided Manchester derbies before, and a couple of additional days on the training ground are unlikely to be the difference on their own.
