Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke are primed to take on Sheffield United this Sunday.
Neither started against Manchester United last night, but both made an impact off the bench, and their freshness should be a strong argument in favour of using them from the start this weekend, especially given the short turnaround time between games.
Mykhailo Mudryk was disappointing against United, and looks already certain to be dropped for the upcoming game. Much like Sterling and Madueke, he just doesn’t seem capable of more than brief flashes of form here and there. Starting a second game in a row showed big faith from Mauricio Pochettino, but Mudryk didn’t deliver.
Removing Cole Palmer from the lineup, on the other hand, feels impossible, no matter how much he’s played recently. But we could perhaps see him move more centrally, with Conor Gallagher dropping deeper. That would give us a much needed chance to rest Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, both of whom came back from tiring international trips last week without a break.
It should be a walk in the park, no matter who is picked. Sheffield United have conceded 3, 3, 2 and 6 goals in their last four games, and are rock bottom of the league. We won’t get a better chance to mix up our attack without jeopardising our chances of a result.
Our defending has been a ragged mess too, so this could be a high scoring game. After snatching 3 points from nowhere last night, dropping any on Sunday would be unforgivable.