4-2-3-1: United will tear through Sunderland with this electric line-up crackling with danger

Manchester United are assured of Champions League football next season but will want to finish strongly in their last three games in the Premier League. A third-place finish will earn the Red Devils around £5 million in extra prize money, but more importantly, it will make Michael Carrick’s case for the permanent manager role very hard to ignore. For those reasons, we expect the boss to field a full-strength side and for there to be little rotation of fringe players into the starting XI. Defence Senne Lammens will be in goal. Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw are likely to continue in the full-back positions, but Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu are also available if Carrick does decide to rotate. Lisandro Martinez is back from his three-match ban and could go straight back into the starting line-up. However, we expect the manager to stick with Ayden Heaven, who has been performing superbly alongside Harry Maguire. Martinez has only seen 56 minutes of action since early February, so is not fully match fit and could be given 20–30 minutes off the bench. Leny Yoro is another option at centre-back. Midfield and Attack The stand-out pair under Carrick’s reign, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo, will start again in central midfield with Bruno Fernandes, who is hunting down the Premier League assist record, ahead of them in the number 10 role. Benjamin Sesko is a doubt for the game, having aggravated a previous injury last time out, but he is afforded a 75% chance of passing a late fitness test, according to premierinjuries.com. If fit enough, he should play, as his aerial presence could cause havoc against a depleted Sunderland back line lacking height. Sesko will be flanked by Matheus Cunha and probably Bryan Mbeumo, with Amad, Mason Mount and Josh Zirkzee on standby should a change be needed. Final Thoughts Carrick to field strong XI Heaven to keep his place despite Martinez return Sesko late fitness test Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images 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 Red Billy Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and two magazines and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy first saw United live in 1971, watching George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, before becoming a League Match ticket book holder from 1975/76 and a writer since 1995. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.