Donny van de Beek’s doomed career at Manchester United took another unfortunate turn on Tuesday when he limped off with what looked like a serious leg injury.
This leaves manager Erik ten Hag with little cover for Bruno Fernandes in the number 10 position as the Red Devils head to the FA Cup third round tie with Everton.
Anthony Martial also left looking to take a hit, although Ten Hag seemed to suggest in his post-match press that this was not serious.
However, with no striker reinforcements in sight and a series of big games to come, the boss may decide to rest him against the Toffees.
Marcus Rashford could play up front with Alejandro Garnacho restored on the left and Antony restored on the right, if he has recovered from the injury that caused him to miss the Bournemouth game.
It also seems that the time has come to return Lisandro MartÃnez and Raphael Varane to the heart of United’s defence, despite Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof both achieving a clean sheet against the Cherries.
Luke Shaw is in top form but could be put on cotton for the Cup game, with Tyrell Malacia a capable substitute.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has done well at right-back in Diogo Dalot’s absence, but we believe the Portugal international will also make a comeback, with Wan-Bissaka perhaps set to come back as a substitute in the League Cup quarter-final against Charlton. .
Ten Hag could try to squeeze another 90 minutes out of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro on Friday, but then they too could be rested against Charlton with the Manchester derby in mind.
If not, Fred and Scott McTominay are fit and available to fill in for either star.
David de Gea will continue, of course, in goal.
Jadon Sancho is back in training as well, so he could get an outside chance to feature, although it’s more likely to come off the bench.
With all that in mind, here’s our predicted XI for Friday’s game:
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