Man United vs Roma preview: winless Carrick side face in-form Roma

Manchester United go into one of their most important European nights in years without a win in nine games. On Tuesday 3 November (20:00 GMT, 21:00 CET), Michael Carrick's side host Roma at Old Trafford on matchday 4 of the Champions League league phase. Gian Piero Gasperini's team arrive in the opposite mood: unbeaten in Serie A and scoring freely.

Two clubs heading in opposite directions

United's run reads three draws and six defeats across all competitions. Their last win was the 4-0 against Sabah in their Champions League opener almost two months ago. Since then they have lost 2-0 to Atlético de Madrid and 4-1 at Como in Europe, and on Saturday they went down 2-0 at Chelsea: Morgan Rogers scored early in the second half, Lisandro Martínez was sent off for a second yellow card on 63 minutes and Cole Palmer converted the penalty a minute later. In the Premier League United have seven points from nine games and sit 17th, ahead of the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Roma are flying. The 5-2 win at Udinese on Saturday – goals from Bryan Cristante, Rodrigo Mora, Donyell Malen, Evan Ndicka and Daniele Ghilardi – kept them unbeaten after ten Serie A rounds:

Pos	Team	Played	Points	Goal difference
1	Lazio	10	28	+16
2	Inter	10	25	+13
3	Roma	10	24	+18
4	Como	10	23	+10

Where they stand in Europe

	Manchester United	Roma
Matchday 1	Sabah 0-4 (W)	Fenerbahçe 1-1 (D)
Matchday 2	Atlético de Madrid 2-0 (L)	Real Madrid 4-3 (L)
Matchday 3	Como 4-1 (L)	Slovan Bratislava 4-0 (W)
Points	3	4

United are 21st, Roma 15th, one point ahead (full Champions League table). The top eight go straight to the last 16 and places 9 to 24 reach the knockout play-offs, so another defeat would leave United fighting for a play-off spot with four games left.

Team news

Manchester United: Benjamin Šeško is out long-term and Luke Shaw is also missing. Patrick Dorgu is back in training after a hamstring injury but is not expected to be ready, and Marcus Rashford is a doubt. Martínez is available: his red card at Stamford Bridge only counts in domestic competition, so he will instead miss Sunday's league game against Aston Villa.

Roma: Gasperini is without midfielder Manu Koné and first-choice goalkeeper Mile Svilar, and Paulo Dybala is unlikely to recover from a muscle problem in time. The main threat is Malen, who has eight Serie A goals this season and three in the Champions League.

History on United's side

• The clubs have met eight times in Europe: United have won five, Roma two, with one draw.
• United have won all four meetings at Old Trafford, including the famous 7-1 in the 2007 quarter-final second leg – Carrick scored twice that night.
• The last tie was the 2021 Europa League semi-final, which United won 8-5 on aggregate after a 6-2 first leg in Manchester.
• According to Opta, Roma have not won any of their last 16 games in England (six draws, ten defeats).

Our take

On form, Roma are clear favourites – a rare thing at Old Trafford. Gasperini's side press high, attack with numbers and have had 14 different scorers this season, while United have failed to score in four of their nine league games. Carrick says the speculation about his future does not affect his preparation – "what happens after, happens", he said on Monday – but a tenth game without a win would increase the pressure considerably before the international break. United's best hope is the occasion itself: a full stadium, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo against a Roma side that has rarely travelled well in Europe. A draw would hardly ease the mood in Manchester; for Roma it would be a solid point.

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