Manchester United travel to Brentford on Sunday and the British media predict that Ruben Amorim will use more young players as the team hosts Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, and although they are 3-0 up in the first leg, they should not be taken lightly and the main players need to be rested. However, in the end, United only had three demons in the squad, and right-back Jaden Camarson, who was expected to make his debut, was not available.
The Academy youngsters in United's 21-man squad for the trip include centre-back Tyler Frederiksen, left-back Harry Amos and centre-forward Cheeto Obi, all of whom have already played in the first team, and it will be interesting to see if Danish striker Obi has a chance to start for the first time.
Some fans would like to see Obi form an attacking trident with Ahmad Diallo and Mason Mount. Ahmad and De Ligt, who returned from injury against Bilbao, are both on the squad and are expected to start in the Premier League. Captain Bruno Fernandes may be on a rotational break, but he also travelled with the group on the train south to London.
The likes of Camason, Sékou Koné and Bendito Mantato travelled to Bilbao for training last week but were not part of United's squad heading south to London and would all be missing out on their debut unless they travel elsewhere and will have to wait for the Premier League to play again.
Brentford still have a chance to fight for a European spot, so they will be in a state of contention at home. Manchester United, by contrast, have run out of desire in the Premier League, and the only thing they can do is try to improve their position, as a higher position means an extra £3 million in prize money.
However, there isn't much room for United to improve. The Reds are currently 15th with 39 points from 34 rounds, 12 points behind 10th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion (51 points from 34 rounds) and ninth-placed Fulham (51 points from 35 rounds). This means that Amorim is unlikely to lead the team into the top 10.
Even if United win all of their remaining games, the above teams only need to take one more point to completely catch up. Not to mention that United only have a goal difference of -8, which is also far behind Brighton's one goal and Fulham's three.
Theoretically, it will be difficult for United to catch up with 12th-placed Crystal Palace (45 points from 34 games) and could end up in a position between 13th and 17th this season.
The team are winless in their last five league games and Amorim has called on the team to fight for dignity, but after all, the Europa League is first, so he can only take the risk: "Maybe some kids will have to play against Brentford, we have some problems with the squad and some players are at the limit of fitness. We'll do our best to take care of everything, and the best way to do that is to be ready for all these things and we'll see what we can do over the weekend. Cheetos (Obi) can't play in Bilbao, but he can certainly play in the Premier League. They have to participate in the competition. We have some questions. There are some players who can't play two games in a row. It's all in my head, the youngsters are going to play."
Manchester United vs Brentford squad: Andre Onana, Altay Bayndir, Tom Heaton; Maguire, De Ligt, Lenny Yoro, Lindelof, Fredericksen, Luke Shaw, Amas, Patrick Dolgu; Casemiro, Ugarte, Eriksen, Kobe Maynor, Mason Mount, B Fee; Garnacho, Ahmad, Hojlund, Obi.