Carrick should be sacked by Man Utd for his own good, says Neville

Gary Neville believes Michael Carrick should be sacked by Manchester United, insisting sometimes a coach needs to be relieved of his duties for their own good.

Carrick's position in the Old Trafford dugout has come under increasing pressure, with United languishing in 16th in the Premier League table. 

On the back of a 4-1 loss to Como in the Champions League, United were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth in their last league outing, making it eight games without a win across all competitions, though Carrick was applauded off the pitch after the defeat to the Cherries, with the jeers aimed towards the players and the club's hierarchy. 

It was reported that Carrick was set to lose his job in the wake of losing to Bournemouth, with Julian Nagelsmann, Antonio Conte and Eddie Howe all linked with replacing him. 

However, Carrick has been given the opportunity to turn things around, and he will remain in charge for United's trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday.

Neville revealed he was surprised by the decision to let Carrick stay in his position, likening the situation to his short-lived tenure with Valencia over 10 years ago. 

"I reckon what's happened in the 24 hours after Bournemouth is that they've literally debated it back and forth," Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast.

"I don't know this, but they've debated it to the point where they've got themselves into a muddle, and thought, 'we'll just stay with him'.

"I think staying with him is a result of the lack of planning, the lack of probably available options, the lack of decision-making around the two people that probably are available.

"That's when you're really struggling. Sometimes a manager needs sacking for their own good. I needed sacking at Valencia. I was happy that they put me out of my misery."

Chelsea are another team aiming to return to winning ways, having followed up a 2-0 defeat to rivals Tottenham by being dumped out of the EFL Cup by Liverpool on penalties.

Morgan Rogers had opened the scoring with a spot-kick, but Liverpool quickly levelled through a penalty of their own, with Cody Gakpo punishing Wesley Fofana's handball. 

The Blues had the chance to win the shoot-out when Ryan Gravenberch's effort was saved by Mike Penders, only for Emmanuel Emegha to be denied by Giorgi Mamardashvili. 

Fofana capped a poor personal performance by blazing over to seal Liverpool's spot in the quarter-finals, and though Chelsea now have just the FA Cup and Premier League to play for, Rogers believes there were plenty of positives to take from their performance at Anfield. 

"It is probably the worst way to lose a game," said Rogers. "It was an even game and at times we had the better of it.

"In the first half, we quietened down the crowd, got our foot in the game and took the lead. To concede so quickly was difficult.

"I thought we started the second half really well, and we could have got in front a few times. We had a few chances towards the end. I'm a bit disappointed because I had some half-chances, half-moments that I'd have liked to have put away. They did as well.

"It was a really good performance, really good game. It was one of those that can go either way, and you have to accept it."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Danny Welbeck

With Joao Pedro sidelined for a few weeks, as confirmed by Alonso, Welbeck is the man likely to be tasked with leading the line for Chelsea.

Welbeck has scored six Premier League goals against United, the most any player has ever scored against the Red Devils, having played for them in the competition previously.

Manchester United – Harry Maguire

Maguire could make his 300th Premier League appearance in this match, and he will be hoping to mark it by helping his team earn a much-needed victory.

He is one of three players for the Red Devils to have played every minute so far this season, along with Senne Lammens and Bryan Mbeumo.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Despite being favoured by the Opta supercomputer, Chelsea have won just two of their last 17 Premier League matches against United (D8 L7), though they were both at Stamford Bridge in 2023-24 (4-3) and 2024-25 (1-0).

Since the start of March, Chelsea have lost more Premier League games than any other side (11). They have lost 44.4% of their games in 2026 (12/27), their worst ratio in a year since 1993, when they lost 20 of 41 games (48.8%).

The Blues have also lost both of their Premier League games at Stamford Bridge on Halloween, losing 2-1 to Sheffield United in 1992-93 and 3-1 to Liverpool in 2015-16. They are the only side to play more than one home game on October 31 and lose every single one.

United, meanwhile, won both top-flight games against Chelsea last season – the Red Devils have not won three league games in a row against the Blues since September 1965.

However, the Red Devils are winless in their last eight games in all competitions (D3 L5). They last had a longer run between October and November 1988 (nine).

United last lost three in a row by 3+ goals in all competitions between November and December 1961.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chelsea – 51.8%

Draw – 24.5%

Manchester United – 23.7%