Alan Shearer has called for calm inside Old Trafford ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby, telling Manchester United not to let their extra day of rest working against them become an excuse against Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City.
United, managed by Michael Carrick, return to Champions League football this week and played their midweek European fixture on Thursday, a day later than City’s Tuesday outing.
That has left Carrick’s side with a shorter turnaround before Saturday’s derby, but Shearer, writing in his Premier League predictions column for Metro,, was in no mood to let the scheduling quirk become a talking point.
No excuses over fixture schedule
The former England captain acknowledged the imbalance but was firm that United had earned their place in Thursday-night European football and could not now complain about the consequences.
“It’s not ideal that Man United played in Europe on Thursday and City played on Tuesday, but you can’t ever use it as an excuse. That’s what they played for last year is to get into the Champions League.
“So, there’s no point in moaning that you now play on a Thursday and a Sunday. But I do get that they would want a level playing field with City playing on Tuesday.”
It is a pointed message for a United side that fought hard to return to Europe’s premier competition after a difficult spell, and Shearer’s framing is a reminder that Champions League qualification comes with a price attached to the calendar.
Carrick guided United back into the competition after taking over on an interim basis in January and earning a permanent contract on the back of a third-placed Premier League finish.
The trade-off, as this week shows, is a punishing sequence of Thursday-Sunday turnarounds that will test the squad’s depth as the season progresses.
United’s big-game habit under scrutiny
Shearer’s prediction for the derby itself is a score draw, and his reasoning centres on a familiar tension in United’s season so far: a team capable of raising its level for the occasions that matter most, but one whose underlying form has been shaky.
“Man United always gives a bit extra in the big games. But now we’ve seen them against Hull, we’ve seen them against Everton last weekend, showing just how sloppy they were defensively. It’s a brilliant goal from Ainsley Maitland-Niles, but again I think they always pull something out of the bag for games like this. So I’m going to go for a draw and a point apiece.”
The reference to defensive fragility against Hull and Everton will sting a little at Old Trafford, even with the individual quality of Maitland-Niles’ goal acknowledged.
Carrick who inspired a genuine turnaround last season now needing to iron out lapses that could be ruthlessly exposed by a City side setting out its stall under new leadership.
This is the first Manchester derby of the Maresca era at the Etihad. The Italian will aim to make an immediate mark on the club’s most storied rivalry.
Whatever his instructions, Shearer’s assessment suggests City’s players will find Saturday’s opponents anything but there for the taking, regardless of the extra rest in their legs.
