Next up in our Half-Term Report series, we grade the start of Michael Carrick’s Manchester United.
- READ MORE: 10 things we’ve learned from FPL Gameweeks 1-5
- READ MORE: The FPL talismans – Top players for goals + chances in 2026/27
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RESULTS SO FAR
| GW | Result | Man Utd’s xG | Man Utd’s xGC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hull 2-0 Man United | 1.83 | 1.01 |
| 2 | Man United 5-2 Ipswich | 4.77 | 2.06 |
| 3 | Everton 2-2 Man United | 0.69 | 1.01 |
| 4 | Man United 0-1 Man City | 1.00 | 1.10 |
| 5 | Fulham 1-1 Man United | 1.60 | 1.62 |
After Carrick was appointed as interim head coach, the Red Devils won 12 of their remaining 17 league matches.
But the start to 2026/27 has been rough, suffering a shock opening-day defeat to newly promoted Hull City, then needing a late Gameweek 5 equaliser at Fulham. It has them down in 12th place.
Studying the expected goals (xG) battles, Man United really should have beaten Hull and perhaps drawn a Manchester derby where they twice hit the woodwork. In fact, no team has struck the frame more often (five).
XG/XGC RANK V OTHER TEAMS
| Total | Rank v other clubs | |
|---|---|---|
| xG | 9.89 | 4th |
| xGC | 6.80 | 6th |
They’ve not yet kept a clean sheet, but the expected goals conceded (xGC) tally is quite good, as is being level with Arsenal in allowing the second-fewest shots (53).
In attack, Man United are putting up even better numbers – kind of.
First for attempts (113) and second for getting them on target (27), each effort averages a low 0.09 xG. The Fulham draw summed things up: 29 shots, but only two big chances.
LINE-UP LESSONS
Six United players have started every contest, with Marcus Rashford (£7.0m), Kobbie Mainoo (£5.5m), Diogo Dalot (£4.9m) and Lisandro Martinez (£4.9m) in all line-ups after the Hull opener.
Luke Shaw (£4.3m) has started every game he’s been available for, missing one match due to injury.
Carrick has a stable XI, then, but the likes of Carlos Baleba (£4.9m), Matthijs de Ligt (£4.9m), Benjamin Sesko (£7.0m) and Amad Diallo (£5.7m) are due back shortly.
Harry Maguire (£4.8m) will be under threat from de Ligt, while Sesko and Amad could eat into the game-time of Rashford, Matheus Cunha (£7.9m) and maybe even Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m).
Baleba will be tussling with Mainoo and Youri Tielemans (£5.8m) for a start in midfield.
SET-PIECE TAKERS
| Corners | Fernandes (23), Mbeumo (12), Cunha (1) |
| Crosses from free-kicks | Fernandes (3), Shaw (2) |
| Shots from direct free-kicks | Rashford (2), Fernandes (1) |
| Penalties | Fernandes (1, scored) |
Club captain Bruno Fernandes (£11.9m) is one of several who picked up knocks on international duty, but eased concerns by quickly facing Denmark.
That’ll bring huge relief to supporters – and four million FPL managers – as he takes most of their set-pieces.
A 90-minute man on penalties is hard to sell, even after three consecutive blanks. And especially when Tottenham Hotspur are up next!
Mbeumo has also hit double figures for corners.
TOP PLAYERS FOR DEFCONS
