Amad and Mbeumo part of five Man Utd changes; Rodri return among three City changes
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford
Michael Carrick has made five changes to his first Manchester United starting line-up, bringing back Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo following their return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko both drop to the bench as Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire are included in a four-man defence, while Casemiro replaces Manuel Ugarte alongside Kobbie Mainoo in midfield.
Joshua Zirkzee is not included in the squad.
Manchester United XI: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Dorgu, Mbeumo. Substitutes: Bayindir, Mount, Cunha, Malacia, Yoro, Ugarte, Heaven, Sesko, J Fletcher.
Three changes for Manchester City following Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Newcastle.
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rico Lewis and Rodri return, with James Trafford and Nico OâReilly dropping to the bench while Matheus Nunes is not in Pep Guardiola's squad.
Manchester City XI: Donnarumma, Lewis, Khusanov, Alleyne, Ake, Rodri, Semenyo, Foden, Bernardo Silva, Doku, Haaland. Substitutes: Trafford, Bettinelli, Reijnders, Cherki, Ait-Nouri, OâReilly, McAidoo, Mukasa, Mfuni.
Carrick must 'earn right to stay in hot seat'
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Rio Ferdinand
Former Man Utd defender on 5 Live
Michael has been my mate since he was 13 or 14 years old. Selfishly I would love Michael Carrick to get the job now until the end of the season, perform brilliantly and they go 'here are the keys to Old Trafford'. That would be the perfect scenario for me.
It would have meant he would have done well and then he goes on to prove himself. It has been done before [with former players] but everyone is different. I do believe if you go in there and do well enough, you earn the opportunity to go on. Thatâs what football is about. Millions of times itâs been said in the changing room about earning the right to play. Itâs the same with management - earn the right to stay in that hot seat. That is what Michael Carrick has to do now.
A derby first
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Chris Adams
BBC Sport journalist
This will be the first time in the history of the fixture that either club has gone into the game with a new boss in charge.
If Michael Carrick's men do go ahead, the five-time title winner will be wary of their inability to hold onto a lead; they have lost 14 points from winning positions this season, a problem that the now-departed Ruben Amorim struggled to address.
The Red Devils, who sit seventh, will also have to contend with the visitors' relentless running power.
Manchester City players have covered more ground than any other team in the division this season, collectively running an average of 115.6 km per game.
Haaland to get back to scoring ways?
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Countless Fantasy Premier League managers will have been sticking by Erling Haaland as their captain and understandably so after scoring 29 goals in 26 appearances this season.
However, he goes into today's game with just one goal - a penalty - in his last six games.
"God bless that we have Erling in our team right now and all of the season," City boss Pep Guardiola said.
"We are fortunate to have him and without him we would not be in the position we are in now.
"He brings a lot and is getting better at many, many things.
"There are a lot of games and it is an incredible period for games. Every three days there is a match, recovery is less with travel, tough conditions, central defenders (who are) tough.
"It is difficult but he'll be back."
Carrick wants to block out the noise
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford
Gary Neville and Roy Keane are on duty for Sky Sports as part of their match coverage at Old Trafford this afternoon.
That means more opinion on Manchester United, with Keane already making waves around his old club by having a dig at Carrick's wife Lisa over a quickly deleted social media comment she made in response to the Irishman's criticism of her husband 12 years ago.
I felt the idea of bringing in former England boss Steve Holland and Jonathan Woodgate, who includes Real Madrid among his former clubs, is quite astute because they understand what it is like to operate under the fiercest spotlight.
Not that Carrick gave the impression of being too perturbed about it when he spoke to the media yesterday.
"Theyâre not putting more pressure on me," he said. "I donât feel that.
"There are plenty of opinions around, some positive, some not too much.
"Itâs totally irrelevant in terms of what I focus on.
"Thereâs a lot that can be said, itâs the way of the world. Iâm not going to pay too much attention to that."
'Results, results' - how Guardiola outlasted five Man Utd bosses
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Shamoon Hafez
Football news reporter at Old Trafford
When Pep Guardiola steps out at Old Trafford for the 198th Manchester derby this lunchtime, he will be taking on a sixth different United boss in his near decade-long career in charge at City.
Michael Carrick is the latest man in the Manchester United hotseat, with this his first game since joining as interim head coach after the sacking of Ruben Amorim.
As chaos continues to reign for United, there remains a calmness and serenity on the blue half of the Manchester divide.
Guardiola and his troops will be aiming to collect a league double that will keep them in the hunt for the Premier League title, while Carrick will be hoping to snatch local bragging rights in an otherwise calamitous campaign.
Read the full piece
Raising standards
Man Utd v Man City (12:30 GMT)
Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Old Trafford
Michael Carrick's first game in charge of Manchester United couldn't be tougher.
Manchester City represent a significant test and with a trip to Arsenal next Sunday, Carrick has been given a baptism of fire in charge of a side that failed to beat Wolves, Leeds and Burnley in their last three Premier League games.
Carrick uses his programme notes to underline his view of the road ahead.
"The standards at Manchester United must be extremely high," he said.
"Myself and the coaches are here to help the players to reach them.
"I have a great deal of confidence that they will."
Start of a new era
There's been quite a few start of a new eras at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson departed in 2013, and now they are heading on another following Ruben Amorim's departure.
Former player Michael Carrick has taken charge on an interim basis until the end of the season and will be looking to steady the ship and give whoever comes in next the ideal platform to build on.
But with a game against rivals Manchester City first up, starts do not get much harder for Carrick...