Manchester United's start to the 2026/27 season has been nothing short of a disaster, as the season's early optimism was quickly extinguished by a 2-0 opening-day defeat to Hull City.

United fans entered this season believing the side could build on a very impressive second half of last season under Carrick, as he guided his former club to a third-place finish and a return to Champions League football.

After nine games, United sit joint 18th in the Premier League on seven points, with their only league win coming in September, a 5-2 win over newly promoted Ipswich.

It gets even worse when you look at United's Champions League campaign, with Carrick's side sitting in 20th, and out of the elimination places on goal difference, with the club's only win coming against first-time participants Sabah, followed by two very poor performances against Atletico Madrid and Como.

Manchester United's 2-0 loss to Chelsea was their third straight defeat, and the pressure on Michael Carrick intensified further, as some were surprised he oversaw United's trip to London after their terrible home performance against Bournemouth.

With reports indicating that United will assess the managerial situation in the upcoming November international break, the club could very well see the third manager being sacked by INEOS in just over two years.

The first manager to be shown the door at the club in 2024 was Erik ten Hag, who was sacked with United sitting in 14th place. Speaking to ESPN NL's 'Goedemorgen Eredivisie', the former United manager admitted that relegation to the Championship can't be ruled out.

 "In the Premier League, it's certainly possible, because all the teams are simply strong. They're all strong squads, all good managers. And if you end up on the wrong side once and you really get into that vicious circle - yes, then it can become very, very difficult."

Manchester United are fortunate not to already be in the relegation zone, after all three sides below them lost their respective games, and the club's odds of relegation have fallen to their shortest price ever, 14/1. 

Another worrying stat is that United have failed to win any of their first seven away games in all competitions for the first time since 1973-74, the last time they were relegated from the top division, and the club have never been in the bottom three of the league after August since the Premier League began.

Things are expected to get worse before they get better, as United host in-form Aston Villa on the 8th of November before travelling to Anfield to face rivals Liverpool on the 22nd, after the international break.

Speaking on the prospect of United getting relegated, Carrick said, "We've got to keep moving forward and winning games, simple as that. There are no words that I'm going to explain to you now that make it [being in the relegation zone] any difference; it's not going to change it.

"You can look at it like that [negatively] and you can look at how far you can move up the league quite quickly if you win football matches," he said. "So that's the way it's got to be approached, for sure."