Harry Maguire is staring down a one-match ban and a fine after the Football Association upheld a misconduct charge against him. The Manchester United defender will miss the trip to Chelsea, which only makes an already messy situation worse for Michael Carrick at the back.

Things aren’t looking great for United’s defence right now. According to The Athletic, Maguire won’t play against Chelsea this weekend. He’s still in trouble for how he went after the fourth official in that Bournemouth match, where he got sent off. It’s extra frustrating because Maguire just served another suspension during United’s 2-1 loss to Leeds after getting dismissed in that wild 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Carrick’s relied on Maguire a lot since taking over; 10 of his 14 league starts have come under the new manager, so this is a rough blow.

The FA made their stance clear after Maguire allegedly swore at fourth official Matt Donohue following his red card for a foul on Evanilson. The league is strict about how players treat officials, and this outburst crossed the line. In their words: “It is alleged that the defender acted improperly and used abusive or insulting words and behaviour towards the fourth official following his dismissal.”

And Maguire’s not the only headache for Carrick. Lisandro Martinez is also likely out, probably facing a three-match ban after pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair and getting sent off against Leeds. United’s appealing it, but PGMO chief Howard Webb hasn’t left much doubt: hair-pulling counts as violent conduct, full stop. Clubs get that reminder every season, and pulling someone’s hair with force? The refs won’t hesitate to show red.

So now Carrick’s options are threadbare. With both senior centre-backs banned, he’s got little choice but to start Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, a pair of teenagers at Stamford Bridge. United is hanging onto third in the league for now, but Chelsea could close the gap to just four points if they win. No experienced backups, the pressure of Stamford Bridge, and the season’s most crucial spell ahead, these young defenders are about to get thrown straight into the deep end.

Bruno Fernandes credits Michael Carrick’s turnaround at Manchester United to some key changes: starting different players, shifting positions, switching up the formation, and, maybe most importantly, finally finding the back of the net.

Things were rough under Ruben Amorim, who lost his job in January after just 14 months at Old Trafford. Honestly, United hadn’t seen a season that bad in over five decades. Amorim’s reign ended with a loss to Tottenham in the Europa League final, and, in the Premier League, he racked up the worst win rate (32%), the most goals conceded per game (1.53), and the fewest clean sheets (15%) of any manager in the club’s history.

Once Amorim was out, Carrick took over as head coach until the season’s end. Now, after guiding United up to third in the league, he’s the clear favourite to get the job full-time.

One of Carrick’s first moves was bringing Kobbie Mainoo back into the starting eleven. He also didn’t hesitate to change the team’s formation, both of which Fernandes sees as major reasons for the recent success.

“We’ve changed a lot,” Fernandes told Men in Blazers. “He changed some players, switched around some positions, tried a new formation, and, at the end of the day, we started scoring goals.

“We were always creating chances and racking up opportunities, even under Ruben. But we just weren’t finishing them. Defensively, we actually kept teams out of our box pretty well, but then we’d still concede goals.

“With Carrick, we tightened up at the back, got more compact. There’ve been games where we’ve just had to grind it out because we weren’t in great form, but that sacrifice made a difference. Honestly, getting two tough games right off the bat helped beat City, and then Arsenal at the Emirates really set the tone. After that, you start to feel, okay, we’re playing good football now, maybe things will change. The City game was probably our best performance, but against Arsenal, we just found a way to get the win.

“Big clubs have to find ways to get results even if it’s not always pretty.”

Fernandes also gave Carrick the highest praise by saying he’s the ex-United player he’d most want as a teammate. “I wouldn’t pick Rooney, because then I'd end up on the bench,” he joked.

“It might sound odd, but I’d go with Michael Carrick. I trained with him when he was here under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sometimes he’d join us as a six, playing those balls between the lines; he was brilliant.

“As a number ten, you want those quick passes, and Carrick had amazing timing. It’s not just about holding on to the ball; it’s about moving it fast and finding your teammate. He was perfect at that, and having someone behind you like that just makes your job so much easier.”