The Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is facing a predicament for the trip to Middlesbrough tomorrow, knowing he must keep an element of freshness in his squad for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal on Tuesday without damaging the club's title bid.
He has been boosted by the news that Rio Ferdinand, while not fit enough to make the journey to Teesside, could make it for the second leg at the Emirates after x-rays revealed the damage to his ribs suffered in a collision with his own goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in midweek is not as extensive as first feared.
Jonny Evans will replace Ferdinand at Middlesbrough, with Wes Brown returning to the bench as United look to maintain their three-point advantage over Liverpool.
Paul Scholes, Park Ji-Sung, Nani and Ben Foster are all set to be included as well, although the number of changes may not be quite as extensive as Ferguson originally indicated.
"The funny thing is the players are quite buoyed up and want to play," said Ferguson. "Our performance on Wednesday helps, although I have to make sure there is the right kind of freshness so we get the balance in the team right."
However, he has not ruled out dropping big names, insisting form is more important than reputation.
"Players react differently," said the United manager. "Some accept it, others find it hard. It depends on the nature of the personalities. But it doesn't deflect me from picking what I feel is the correct team.
"You cannot think about how much a player costs when you are picking a team. Once that player is signed it is not as if you can go to the tax man and ask for a rebate if he doesn't play.
"Others might not agree with my choice and the recent FA Cup semi-final was a case in point. But I never allow anyone to cloud my judgment. I am very clear-minded about that."
On the face of it, a Saturday lunchtime kick-off is ideal as it gives the squad the maximum preparation time before the crunch encounter with Arsenal. However, Ferguson is not impressed, believing his side would have benefited more from a 3pm kick-off, as Arsenal will have at Portsmouth.
"Teams who play in Europe on a Wednesday should not have a lunchtime kick-off on a Saturday," he said. "That goes for all teams, not just us. You would think these guys sitting in an office all week would think about these things. But when you shake hands with the devil you pay the price."
