Manchester United will move to within three games of a trip to Wembley if they beat Championship table-toppers Burnley in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford tomorrow evening.
Thirty-nine days since they defeated Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage, courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho's late heroics, United will be looking to pick up where they left off against the Clarets and keep their hopes of ending their trophy drought as soon as February alive. With Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur already out of the competition and the guarantee of one of Liverpool and Manchester City crashing out in this round, it is an opportunity that United ought to be grabbing with both hands.
The Reds, who last won the Carabao Cup back in 2017, defeating Southampton 3-2 in a thrilling final, are desperate to bring their trophy drought to an end, and this competition might offer them the best chance of doing so this season, such is the line-up of the clubs who are left. Manager Erik ten Hag, to his credit, has named as strong a starting line-up as possible in each of his 21 games in charge so far, refusing to ring the changes on mass.
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However, such is the timing of this fixture, Ten Hag, for the first time in his premiership, is going to have to deploy a largely untested line-up. A winter World Cup has meant that the Dutchman has not worked with several senior members of his squad since mid-November.
A collection of them were scheduled to report back to Carrington today but it is unlikely that they will be thrown straight into the heat of the battle so quickly. Instead, it means that Ten Hag is poised to put the bulk of his starting line-up together from the pool of players that he has been working with, both at home and in Spain, over the last few weeks.
It means United, for the first time in a competitive fixture under Ten Hag, are set to have a very unfamiliar look to themselves, with the line-up expected to feature a mix of youngsters and fringe players. Nevertheless, it will create an opportunity for some lesser stars to try and force their way into the Dutchman's thinking ahead of the Premier League campaign resuming next week.
It means that Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Brandon Williams and Donny van de Beek could all be in line to start, as could youngster Zidane Iqbal, who will be hoping the visit of Burnley marks the evening when he finally earns his full debut for the club. He has only made one senior appearance so far and that came as a late substitute against BSC Young Boys in the Champions League last December.
But while the cup clash could mark the beginning of Iqbal's United career, it could also be the night that marks Wan-Bissaka's, Williams' and Van de Beek's last chance to save theirs. Between them, the trio have made just eight appearances this season, seven of which have been claimed by Van de Beek.
Wan-Bissaka, who is the subject of interest from West Ham United ahead of next month's transfer window, has earned just four minutes worth of competitive action under Ten Hag this season, making it crystal clear that he does not feature in the Dutchman's plans. United are happy to let the right-back go and he has next to no chance of leapfrogging Diogo Dalot in the pecking order.
Williams, who operates in the opposite full-back berth, is also fighting to save his United career. He has missed almost all of this season so far through injury and currently finds himself third in the pecking order behind Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia. Although he is only 22, he will have aspirations of starting games regularly sooner rather than later, meaning an exit could be his only hope of achieving that.
Opportunities are not likely to be forthcoming for him once Shaw and Malacia are back up to speed following the World Cup, meaning he must make the most of his expected opportunity against the Clarets. He started both friendlies in Spain and is expected to keep his place.
Van de Beek, meanwhile, was expected to be like a new signing for United this season, resurrected by Ten Hag, with whom he worked with at Ajax. However, it simply hasn't happened for the midfielder, despite starting three of the last four matches prior to the World Cup.
He was ineffective in each of those outings and failure to impress against Burnley, should he be handed another starting berth, could spell the end of his hopes of rescuing his Old Trafford career once and for all. Bruno Fernandes is United's architect-in-chief and the prospect of Iqbal impressing could promote him up the midfield pecking order at Van de Beek's expense.
It is do or die time for him, Wan-Bissaka and Williams.
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