Top News

Manchester United kick off their Premier League campaign away to Hull City on Saturday lunchtime, with this marking Michael Carrick’s first full season after taking permanent charge of the club.

United ended last season in third place and are back in the Champions League for the first time in three years, adding another level of expectation to Carrick’s first full campaign. A visit to newly promoted opponents presents an ideal chance to begin with a strong statement.

Matthijs de Ligt is still unavailable because of a lower back issue, while Manuel Ugarte is expected to miss a large part of the season with a knee injury. Tom Heaton is also out. Mason Mount suffered a foot injury in the 1–1 pre-season draw with PSG and will face a late fitness test to decide whether he can be involved. Benjamin Seško has returned to full training after a shin problem, but remains touch and go for his first involvement of the season.

Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos are both in line to make their competitive debuts in a reshaped central midfield. Santos, a £50m arrival from Chelsea, played in all six of United’s pre-season friendlies and has shown that he is ready to start. Tielemans linked up later after helping Belgium reach the World Cup quarter-finals, but he completed 90 minutes in the final pre-season friendly against AC Milan.

Ayden Heaven is expected to line up alongside Harry Maguire in central defence, with Lisandro Martínez having managed only around 30 minutes of pre-season action and viewed as a bench option, along with Kobbie Mainoo. Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw are set to continue at full-back.

Bryan Mbeumo is likely to spearhead the attack after an impressive pre-season, with Seško’s fitness concerns creating the opportunity. Amad Diallo and Matheus Cunha are expected to provide the width on either side of captain Bruno Fernandes, who will operate in his usual number ten role. Senne Lammens is set to continue in goal.

Manchester United possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Tielemans, Santos; Diallo, Fernandes, Cunha; Mbeumo

The Premier League match kicks off at 12:30 BST on Saturday, 22 August 2026.

The game will be shown live in the UK on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and HBO Max.