The media in Slovenia have been bristling with indignation in the build-up to Manchester United’s return to the Champions League over Michael Carrick’s treatment of Benjamin Sesko.‘The Champions League is back! Is Sesko a victim of the coach’s system?’ asked the country’s rights-holding TV channel 24ur Sport. Leading website Ekipa took aim at Matheus Cunha, the ‘false nine’ who has been keeping Sesko out of the team in the first three games of the season.‘Sesko flies on the shameful numbers of the Brazilian – fans firmly against Carrick,’ it proclaimed in response to their Slovenian favourite climbing off the bench to score in the 2-2 draw at Everton on Sunday, after replacing a rather anonymous Cunha. ‘He (Cunha) completely failed, showing a catastrophic performance. A total zero. Cunha ended with zero shots on target, zero assists, zero dribbles. He lost the ball 11 times and was beaten in every aerial duel.‘But Carrick insisting that Sesko is still more effective on the bench, while the Brazilian plays up front, is driving fans crazy. Sesko has to play from the first minute, they’re yelling.’While the clamour for Sesko to start may still be some way short of a crescendo, at least in Manchester, he will be hoping to get his chance over the next few days as Carrick manages his players’ minutes across Thursday night’s Champions League opener at home to Azerbaijani minnows Sabah and Sunday’s 199th Manchester derby at Old Trafford. Benjamin Sesko has become adept at scoring goals for Manchester United after coming off the bench, the latest of which came against Everton at the weekend The Slovenian’s form has convinced supporters that boss Michael Carrick should start him – according to the Press in his home country, at leastUnited’s head coach knows he cannot risk losing on Thursday to a club that only came into existence in 2017 and are managed by Valdas Dambrauskas, a man who paid for his coaching education by winning the present-day equivalent of £2,500 on Lithuania’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? in 2002.However, United’s below-par start to the season – taking four points from Hull, Ipswich and Everton – has left them with even less margin for error against Manchester City than usual. Whether that means a first start for Sesko after three appearances as a substitute remains to be seen. It depends if Carrick sticks to the false nine in his 4-2-3-1 formation he has used throughout the summer and in the opening games of the campaign. Bryan Mbeumo played through the middle in pre-season before reverting to the right wing when Amad Diallo was injured before the first game, and Cunha has filled the false nine role since.Meanwhile, Sesko was given time off to recover from the troublesome shin injury which forced him to miss the tail end of his first season at United following a £74million move from RB Leipzig, and did not feature at all.The summer began with a private 23rd birthday party for his fan club, an annual affair in the striker’s hometown of Radece. But judging by his muscular physique, he skipped the cake and spent his time largely in the gym.The man once described as ‘a control freak’ by former United boss Ruben Amorim has bought a house with its own gymnasium, pool, ice bath and sauna so he can continue his workouts and recovery at home, and is known to use the hyperbaric chamber at Carrington, red-light therapy and a personal fitness trainer. That’s before you get into the virtual reality glasses that help him simulate game scenarios, a mind coach and meditation. Sesko heads home against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, giving United a late lead later cancelled out by Ainsley Maitland-Niles Matheus Cunha, on the other hand, has offered little threat this season and blazed over the bar in the first half against Everton when he should have scored‘Ben’s obviously getting closer and closer,’ said Carrick on Wednesday. ‘Since the Liverpool game at the end of April is a long time to miss. We’ve had to look after him to get him fit.‘He’s probably trained three and a bit weeks fully with no restrictions. I think you can see that, coming onto the pitch and getting his rhythm. It was a fantastic goal (against Everton), and what he did an awful lot for us last season.‘So, he’s in a good place. He’ll obviously be part of each and every game, and it’s just a case of when he takes that next step.’After scoring just twice for Amorim before the Portuguese coach was sacked in January, Sesko thrived under Darren Fletcher who started the Slovenian in both his games as caretaker coach and was rewarded with three goals. Seven more followed in 13 games under Carrick even though Sesko began the first six of them on the bench. He had a run of four starts before injury struck and the new head coach reverted to a false nine and Cunha. That has continued so far this season. Interestingly, United’s Under 21s and Under 18s have adopted a similar tactic, suggesting it may be a club-wide shift.Cunha has offered little threat this season, however, dropping too deep or drifting too wide to give his team a focal point through the middle. Bruno Fernandes can often be the player furthest forward when United attack, or jump out of his No10 position to lead the press when they switch to a 4-2-4 formation out of possession.The United captain scored a hat-trick against Ipswich and Mbeumo followed up his strike against the Premier League newcomers with an excellent solo effort at Everton on Sunday.Marcus Rashford has looked bright since his return to United, and was arguably their best player at the Hill Dickinson Stadium before going off when he overstretched a hamstring. If Rashford is ruled out against Sabah, Cunha could revert to the left flank – if he isn’t rested altogether – and create an opening for Sesko. Sesko scored 11 league goals last season from 30 appearances – but 13 of those appearances were from the bench The Slovenian striker is 6ft 5in tall and noticeably more muscular this seasonCarrick has a number of options at his disposal, but so far he has struggled to get the best out of them despite fielding a dynamic front four of Cunha, Rashford, Mbeumo and Fernandes. United miss the direct running of Amad, who hasn’t resumed training outside yet and may not re-appear until after the international break.They were outshot 18-14 by an Everton side desperate for a new striker and had a lower xG than their opponents, with Cunha blazing over the bar in the first half when he should have scored.As soon as he was replaced by Sesko, United responded to having a more conventional target man who – at 6ft 5in tall and noticeably more muscular this season – presented a greater physical threat to the Everton defence.They couldn’t stop him when Luke Shaw floated over a cross and he headed in what looked like being the winner before Ainsley Maitland-Niles scored a dramatic late equaliser.‘It’s nice to be back,’ said Sesko. ‘It’s the best feeling when I’m scoring, especially like that. It’s my job to provide goals and points for the team.’Will it be enough to convince Carrick that he deserves a start against Sabah on Thursday night? According to 24ur Sport, it ‘seems like the perfect opportunity’.