Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy could rest skipper and talisman Jamie Vardy when they go to Manchester United in the FA Cup on Friday night.
Relegation fears intensified last weekend with a 4-0 defeat at Everton, and the main focus will be on surviving the drop, and that will be the only thing that could keep Van Nistelrooy in a job.
Despite scoring on his 38th birthday in the third-round win over Queens' Park Rangers, Vardy's minutes will still need to be managed given his age and style of play, and while this game may provide plenty of opportunities for him given Man United's chaotic defensive structure at present, the manager may prioritise the two upcoming home league games against Arsenal and Brentford.
Given Man United's struggles though, Van Nistelrooy may name a more attacking XI, with Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi in contention to start over the more defensively-minded Jordan Ayew and Bobby Decordova-Reid.
One change that is likely will be Jannik Vestergaard dropping to the bench after he was hauled off after just an hour at Goodison Park following a torrid afternoon, with Conor Coady and Caleb Okoli waiting in reserve to replace him.
Woyo Coulibaly, Leicester's only signing in January arriving for £2m from Parma, could also be handed his full debut following two substitute appearances at right-back, replacing James Justin.
On the injury list, Wilfred Ndidi is making huge strides in his recovery from a thigh injury, but Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu remain sidelined with serious setbacks.
Mads Hermansen was injured for the third round win, and while now fit again, Van Nistelrooy could adopt a cup-goalkeeper system like Steve Cooper did earlier in the campaign, potentially opening the door for Jakub Stolarczyk to come back in.
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Stolarczyk; Coulibaly, Coady, Okoli, Kristiansen; Soumare, Skipp; Buonanotte, El Khannouss, Mavididi; Daka
Click here to see how Man United could line up for this fourth round tie.
Andrew Delaney
