Erik ten Hag has explained the reasons behind naming Marcus Rashford as a substitute for the game at Crystal Palace.
The homegrown forward has looked sharp in his last two games, scoring against Southampton before claiming a brace in the 7-0 Carabao Cup beating of Barnsley on Tuesday night.
However, with so many options available to the boss, he has decided to replace Rashy with Alejandro Garnacho, who also scored twice in midweek.
The boss feels he needs to rotate with so many games in the schedule, as FC Twente await the Reds on Wednesday in the Europa League before the home clash with Tottenham.
Furthermore, Garnacho has been pushing for a start with his electric form and it is important for everyone to get up to speed.
“It is not a difficult decision because we have to rotate,”
said Ten Hag on Sky Sports. “We have so many games to cover and we have to give Alejandro games. As we have all seen, he has a lot of end product. He's scored so many goals and [got] assists. Also, he needs starts. He's only started one time this season.”
Erik added on MUTV: “Alejandro needs starts to get better and to get more powerful so, therefore, we rotate which is good, I think.
”It's then about he players on the bench to come on and have an impact.“
Ten Hag also admitted Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund need some ”match rhythm“ and are unable to play 90 minutes but they are available to influence proceedings at some point, as is new boy Manuel Ugarte.