According to a report by London Evening Standard on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, Manchester United faced a major selection challenge ahead of their Champions League clash with Como, with manager Michael Carrick without several senior players for Wednesday evening’s European fixture.

The Red Devils travelled to Italy under growing pressure after their 1-1 draw against Leeds United extended their winless run to six matches, increasing scrutiny over Carrick’s position as manager.

United’s previous European outing ended in disappointment as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Leny Yoro was sent off during the match, while Lisandro Martinez later criticised technical director Jason Wilcox during his post-match interview.

Despite the controversy, Martinez started against Leeds but suffered a thigh injury and was substituted at half-time. The Argentine defender was consequently ruled out of the meeting with Como.

Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw and Ayden Heaven also missed Sunday’s draw. Marcus Rashford was included among the substitutes but did not feature, with all four players absent from Tuesday morning’s open training session.

The quartet were subsequently omitted from United’s matchday squad, further restricting Carrick’s options for the important Champions League encounter.

Benjamin Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Manuel Ugarte were also unavailable because of their respective injury problems. Meanwhile, Yoro missed the fixture through suspension following his dismissal against Atletico Madrid.

Noussair Mazraoui replaced the suspended French defender in the starting lineup, while Matthijs de Ligt returned to central defence for his first appearance in that position in almost a year.

In midfield, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos retained their places, with Mason Mount completing the central options. Bruno Fernandes was given the freedom to operate behind the attacking players.

Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha joined Fernandes in the forward line as United prepared for their away encounter against Como.

Manchester United starting XI: Lammens; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Maguire, Dalot; Tielemans, Santos; Mbeumo, Mount, Fernandes; Cunha.

Substitutes: Darlow, Heaton, Amass, Armer, Baleba, Kamason, Fletcher, Fletcher, Diallo, Lacey, Thompson and Zirkzee.