Alan Shearer has admitted he is not convinced that Manchester United will complete an ambitious aim despite their turnaround under Michael Carrick.
Manchester United return to Premier League action on Monday night after a 13-day hiatus, with Michael Carrick leading his team into a clash against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The fixture will be the senior men’s side’s first appearance at Everton’s new ground. However, United’s women have already tasted success there, recording an emphatic 4–1 win over the Toffees in the Women’s Super League in October 2025.
Carrick’s men will be determined to bounce back from their 1–1 stalemate away at West Ham a fortnight ago. Sitting fourth in the standings, the Reds remain firmly in contention for a Champions League spot.
Nonetheless, the pressure is mounting from those just behind. Chelsea trail by a single point in fifth, while Liverpool are only three points adrift, leaving little margin for error against David Moyes’ side.
Shearer unsure about ambitious Man Utd aim
United remain unbeaten under Carrick right now and will be looking to continue that run against Everton. In fact, the Reds have not lost in their last nine Premier League outings.
Carrick is also yet to taste defeat across his two separate spells in charge at Old Trafford. He won fixtures against Villarreal and Arsenal and drew against Chelsea when he was in the hot-seat after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking.
With that in mind, it is a great idea that United could go on a long unbeaten run until the end of the season, but Alan Shearer still doesn’t believe that will happen.
“I’d be surprised if they went the rest of the season unbeaten. That’s a big ask. I think that’s a big ask for anyone, let alone Man United, who have largely struggled this season,” the ex-Newcastle striker said to Betfair.
“But under Michael, we’ve seen, without doubt, we’ve seen a difference in energy and attitude and performance, results, everything.
“I’d be amazed if they went right throughout the season unbeaten. I’d expect them at some stage to be beaten but, I think the main thing for him is there has been a big improvement and I guess their disappointment at only drawing against West Ham tells you how far they’ve come in the five games that Michael’s had.
“They’ve got to keep on going. As I said, they’ve got no distractions, they’ve got no cup competitions, they’ve just got to concentrate on league football, which might give them a slight advantage over the likes of Aston Villa, who are playing in the Europa League. We’ll have to wait and see but I wouldn’t expect them to go unbeaten in between now and the end of the season, no.”
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United don’t need to go unbeaten
United do not need to go unbeaten for the rest of the season to achieve their aims. The Premier League this season has shown that everyone is going to drop points.
Of course, it would be brilliant if Carrick can continue winning games and avoid defeats. If the next few games go well then United would be in pole position to finish in the top four.
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However, it would also be interesting to see how he would deal with the setback of a defeat. It is something we are yet to see under the ex-midfielder.
Playing away at Everton is not going to be easy on Monday evening but United are in a good mood and will be fresh for the clash.
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