Manchester United face Brighton in the League Cup on Wednesday, with Carlos Baleba unavailable and Andrey Santos in line for his first start as Michael Carrick considers several changes. Luke Shaw is unlikely to be risked following injury, while Diogo Dalot and Harry Maguire could be rested. That leaves Carrick with an important decision at left-back after Patrick Dorgu’s poor performance against City on Sunday. Shaw’s fitness means he should be protected rather than brought straight back into the side. Maguire and Dalot are also candidates for a breather during a demanding run of fixtures. Baleba has progressed to individual training on the grass, but he is not expected to feature before the three-week international break. Amad also remains unavailable, reducing Carrick’s options on the right flank. Kobbie Mainoo has played plenty of football and could be rested. Youri Tielemans was substituted against City, so the midfielder should be fresher for Wednesday’s contest. Senne Lammens is expected to start in goal behind a changed back four. Noussair Mazraoui should take the right-back position, with Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven forming a youthful central partnership. Lisandro Martinez could then move across to left-back. Using Martinez on the left would allow Carrick to leave out Dorgu without placing additional demands on Shaw. It would also create room for Heaven to come into the starting side alongside Yoro. An alternative would be to use either Dalot or Mazraoui at left-back, with the other operating on the right. However, resting Dalot makes the Martinez solution more likely. Santos is expected to make his first start alongside Tielemans in the deeper midfield positions. It is a logical opportunity to assess the Brazilian while giving Mainoo a valuable rest. Bruno Fernandes should operate as the number 10, providing experience and creativity ahead of the new-look midfield pairing. Mason Mount could also receive minutes at some stage. His versatility would give Carrick scope to alter the balance of the midfield during the game. Bryan Mbeumo will probably start on the right because Amad remains out. Shea Lacey is another option, although Carrick is not expected to treat the competition as an opportunity for widespread experimentation. Benjamin Sesko should come into the side at centre-forward. Marcus Rashford is the preferred choice on the left despite Carrick’s seemingly unrelenting faith in Matheus Cunha. That front three would offer a mixture of direct running, physical presence and experience, with Fernandes positioned close enough to support Sesko through the middle. The most intriguing decision concerns the left side of defence. Dorgu struggled against City, Shaw should not be risked and Dalot may need a rest, making Martinez the clearest route to a reshuffle. That choice would also hand Heaven an opportunity at centre-back. Carrick must decide whether those two changes offer greater balance than switching Mazraoui across to the left. Featured image by Dan Mullan via Getty Images Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and two magazines and totally obsessed with football's transfer market. Billy first saw United live in 1971, watching George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, before becoming a League Match ticket book holder from 1975/76 and a writer since 1995. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance. This Baleba thing is very worrying. Fans are being primed to expect him to be the saviour in our midfield. He had one very good season at Brighton at a time when after Liverpool Brighton was the biggest beneficiary of dubious refereeing. Then he lost his place in the starting XI the next season. Now Utd have paid 70M for an injured Baleba. He will need time just to make it to the bench. Then more time to be match fit and still more time to get used to function well playing alongside his new team mates. By that time half the season will be over. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.