United ended their nine-match winless run in midweek after a superb comeback win against Roma in the Champions League.
But the pressure remains firmly on Carrick’s shoulders heading into the weekend, with the Red Devils sitting 17th in the Premier League and without a win in the competition since late August.
Unai Emery’s Villa side will look to pile the pressure back on United with a victory at Old Trafford, and Gerrard fears a United defeat may make it hard for Carrick to return as manager after the international break.
‘Sometimes a performance against a certain opposition in a certain way can give the board a little bit more belief a little bit more hope,’ Gerrard said on TNT Sports.
‘Michael is having a tough time, and I think the next league game is crucial. I think if he can get that win, I think everyone will think this might be the few stepping stones for them to get into better form.
‘But everyone knows what a defeat [in] the last game before an international break could do. If you lose that on the back of not winning a nine in the league, I think it could be tough for him.’
Michael Carrick remains under pressure at Manchester United (Picture: Getty)
Speculation over Carrick’s potential replacement has been rife in recent weeks, with Unai Emery, Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann all said to be under consideration.
But Gerrard believes that Carrick is far from the ‘biggest problem’ at Old Trafford, as he blamed the club’s players and board for letting down a swathe of recent managerial appointments.
‘They’ve had numerous managers in the last five or six years that haven’t really been able to turn that fortune around,’ he added.
‘I think Mourinho came the closest finished second in the league and obviously won in Europe, so it’s a difficult job at the moment because I don’t think it’s just a problem with the manager or the coach and stuff.
‘I think it’s a group of players that have been really inconsistent that haven’t given this club enough, and there’s also a lot of problems from above as well.
‘I said recently that Manchester United have got numerous problems not just one and I don’t think Michael Carrick’s the biggest problem there.’
