Manchester United could hand Tahith Chong a Premier League debut at Crystal Palace on Wednesday, with up to ten players unavailable through injury.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched on at Old Trafford on Sunday as four key United players suffered injuries, and six more are also unavailable or serious doubts for the trip to Selhurt Park.
Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Ander Herrera all picked up injuries against Liverpool at the weekend, adding to problems for Anthony Martial, Nemanja Matic, Matteo Darmian, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, and Mason Greenwood.
That leaves an opportunity for youngsters Chong James Garner and Angel Gomes to step up as Solskjaer will have to name a makeshift midfield and attack.
In defence, Solskjaer can name the same back four that kept out a free-scoring Liverpool side, with Ashley Young and Luke Shaw flanking Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof.
Diogo Dalot is an option to feature at right back with Young pushing further forward, but with Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend in opposition it may be wiser to keep Young where he is accustomed.
Into midfield, and Solskjaer will have to start improvising.
Paul Pogba will play, and Scott McTominay’s performance against Liverpool could earn him another start. Andreas Pereira and Fred will battle for the final midfield spot, with Fred possibly the more likely to play as Solskjaer tries to balance experience and a youthful bounce.
It’s a chance for Fred to prove himself after a difficult start to life at United. He can take inspiration from other United players this season, who have used injuries to impress the manager and remain in the team.
Youngster Chong can provide the energy from left-wing, with the 18-year-old an exciting proposition from the academy. Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez will complete the front three, with a run of games opening up for both players to impress Solskjaer themselves.
Predicted Man Utd XI vs Crystal Palace: De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Pogba, McTominay, Fred; Lukaku, Sanchez, Chong.