Atlético Madrid host Manchester United in the Champions League, with kick-off at 8pm BST.
Speaking to the Amazon UK broadcast before the game, Michael Carrick set out what he wants from the occasion. “It’s where we want to be,” he said. “Got a really good history of this competition and that’s where we want to challenge ourselves and test ourselves. You know, we’ve worked hard to be here. We want a reaction. You know, we haven’t had the results that we wanted, that we expected. Fine margins in some of them games and it can go both ways, but the reality is exactly where we are now and this is a fresh opportunity.”
Carrick went on to describe the balance he is looking for from his team. “I think we want to get control without the ball and we want a lot more control with it,” he said. “I think we’ve got a bit of flexibility. I think we need to defend as a whole team. But you have proved that we’re capable of doing that and we got to get back to that.”
One of the questions hanging over United is the form of Bruno Fernandes. He has not been playing well this season, and he did not complete a pass for a long time against Tottenham. There has also been a hint from the international break that he has been playing with an injury.
How United use Fernandes against Atlético is therefore open to debate. Josh Keeling’s theory is that it could be a diamond with Fernandes behind a front two, or perhaps Fernandes as a false nine.