Manchester United face Norwich City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Carrow Road on Saturday evening.
Confidence will be sky-high after the Reds strolled to a 3-0 victory over Sheffield United at Old Trafford, with Anthony Martial scoring his first hat-trick for the club.
And the game against the Premier League’s bottom-placed side offers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a fantastic opportunity to rotate his squad during this demanding run-in.
Solskjaer has hinted that he will make several changes to keep the squad fresh, with Jesse Lingard likely to feature in some capacity.
The fact that the Norwegian now has a full complement of players to choose from (barring Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones), means he is afforded the luxury of being able to rotate his side entirely while still being able to field a competitive team.
Most of the squad will need to be utilised between now and the end of the season, so we decided to build what is virtually a ‘B team’ if Solskjaer decided to rest all his key men against Norwich.
United might have discovered their best team in the convincing win over the Blades on Wednesday, and we still expect five or six of those players to retain their place for what could be the club’s best chance of winning silverware this season.
But it is interesting to look at just how much the side can change given the added strength and depth in the squad.
The injuries to two of United’s deputising centre-backs in Tuanzebe and Jones mean one of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof would get the nod alongside Eric Bailly, who has been unlucky not to start after impressing before the enforced break.
Brandon Williams and Diogo Dalot present Solskjaer with more than adequate full-back options.
Meanwhile, Fred and Scott McTominay started in a midfield double pivot in the opening game of the restart against Tottenham Hotspur and could rekindle their partnership on Saturday evening.
There could also be room in the starting XI for Andreas Pereira, who came on as one of five late substitutes in Wednesday’s victory.
Odion Ighalo could also lead the line for the first-time since extending his United stay until January.
Here’s a possible line-up if Solskjaer truly does ring the changes against Norwich on Saturday evening:
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