Football FanCast columnist Rob Facey looks ahead to England's friendly with Germany and wonders whether Michael Carrick will ever be considered first choice with the likes of Gerrard and Lampard around. Can the United star take advantage of their absence tonight?

Michael Carrick will be expected to start tonight as Fabio Capello's depleted England squad face Germany in Berlin.

For Carrick, it will be just his 15^th cap since his international debut three years ago.

For a player of such quality he will be disappointed with this stat, but the bigger issue at hand is whether or not an assured performance could ever dislodge the Gerrard/ Lampard partnership that Capello perseveres, with despite criticism from all sectors.

"I'm desperate to play," said Carrick, as reported in The Daily Telegraph.

"To play for your country is a massive honour. It's not a meaningless friendly. Germany versus England at any level is a huge game. We're taking an awful lot of fans across there and we're not taking it lightly."

Since Carrick moved to Old Trafford from Spurs he has failed to establish himself as a first choice regular in the England set up, despite increasingly influential games for United.

"We've got some world-class players in midfield but it's a great challenge," he continued.

"Hopefully the competition for places will bring everybody's game on. Everyone is playing well in the domestic league. It's a nice problem for the manager to have."

He was won two Premier League medals at United, the same as Lampard at Chelsea, and has won one European Cup, the same as Gerrard at Liverpool, so what must he do to convince Don Fabio he is a worthy contender for a place in the starting line up?

Gareth Barry and Owen Hargreaves are arguably ahead of him in the pecking order as things stand but tonight's friendly in Berlin be the perfect opportunity for Capello to try something new.

With injuries ruling out Gerrard and Lampard, rightly or wrongly the first choice pairing for the last three England managers; will Michael Carrick seize this opportunity to show Fabio Capello that he is the right man for the job?

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