Manchester United travel to the Hill Dickinson on Sunday afternoon to face David Moyes' Everton side in the second away trip of the season. 

The first was a very disappointing 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City, and Michael Carrick will be keen to ensure his side does not suffer the same fate once again. 

The Red Devils bounced back last weekend in an impressive 5-2 win at Old Trafford against Ipswich Town, when Bruno Fernandes picked up a hat-trick, and Marcus Rashford returned home. 

This week will be another tough test for Michael Carrick, especially after United failed to sign a left-back during the transfer window. 

There were late links to Manchester City's Rayan Ait-Nouri and Barcelona's Alejandro Balde, but nothing came of it. 

Without a new left-back through the door, Michael Carrick will have to experiment when Luke Shaw is handed a rest or is unavailable. 

Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Amass appear to be the most natural cover, but Carrick revealed that Patrick Dorgu could also play on the left side of defence, despite being exclusively used as a left-winger during Carrick's stint in charge. 

"He can certainly play there [left-back], he has done and I am not saying he can't do that," Carrick told reports at Carrington. 

"The way we’ve worked since I’ve been here, he’s unfortunately been injured for some time.

"For me, he’s almost like a new player to have, like a new signing in some ways because he’s added so much to the group. He played off the right for Denmark and scored a great goal in the summer, he can play left-back. He can do a number of things."

Carrick was also asked for his thoughts on his squad, with some fans concerned that Manchester United are light at left-back and centre-forward. 

"What squad is ever perfect?" he said. "You always have to find ways of adapting, when you’re building and going through a period where we’re trying to get to the top, you have to make steps.

"It’s not going to be one hit. Not just talking about players, it’s the whole thing, improving as a group, as a squad. It’s not an instant fix.

"There’s a whole road we have to go down with that and make sure we keep improving and in the end we want to be going where we want to be. There’s always things that we’re looking at and trying to improve."

The aim at the start of the summer was to replace Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte. While Ugarte remains at the club due to his ACL injury, Manchester United have signed three new central midfielders: Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba. 

Santos and Tielemans struggled against Hull City, but the latter impressed alongside Kobbie Mainoo against Ipswich Town, while Santos was one of the better performers in pre-season, especially while playing next to Mason Mount. 

"The players we brought in I’m delighted with, for the quality and level we’ve got I’m really happy with," said Carrick. 

"There is always other things you can do or could have done, that’s part of evolving the group and trying to push all the time.

"We had certain things we needed to fill, try and improve the group and largely I think we’re in a good group.

"We’ve good dynamic in the squad. We’ve got players that are flexible in the team and can play in different positions. Largely pretty happy."

With the transfer window closed, Carrick's full attention will be on facing Everton this weekend. 

If Manchester United can perform as they did against Ipswich Town – once the first goal had been scored – they will be fine, but they cannot afford another slow start away from home. 

After the Everton game, United face Sabah FK in the Champions League on Thursday, 10 September, which will be their first UCL game since 2023/24 under Erik ten Hag. 

The full squad list was confirmed on Friday morning, although it does include Kobbie Mainoo or Leny Yoro, who are eligible for the B List due to their age and time spent at Old Trafford.