Ruben Amorim says he will not take any risks with his Manchester United players' fitness in Sunday's Premier League contest at Brentford.
The Reds return from Bilbao with a superb 3-0 semi-final scoreline, but know the job is still to be completed in the second leg at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
Our head coach has stressed the Europa League must remain the priority but took a 26-man squad to the Basque Country in order to begin preparations locally for the 14:00 BST kick-off at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Youngsters Harry Amass, Tyler Fredricson, Jaydan Kamason, Bendito Mantato and Chido Obi could all feature after being taken to Spain, but Noussair Mazraoui has already been ruled out, after being withdrawn at San Mames.
“The first thing is that the players who are in risk to get injury will not play,”
said Amorim at his pre-match press conference. “No matter what.
”We need to take a risk in [doing] that. And then we are going to assess tomorrow [Friday] and the next day, who are the best players to start the game.
“Then we have to be careful because we are Manchester United and we cannot go to a game without thinking we can win this game. So the process is going to be like that. It's going to be tough, but we pass so many things this year. It's one more. Let's see.”
Mazraoui, who played at right wing-back, is to be rested, and Diogo Dalot has been sidelined by a calf problem.
“There are some positions that we don't have more players,”
admitted Amorim. “For example, Nous Mazraoui cannot play. He's in the limit to get an injury.
”So we are going to deal with that and prepare a game against a team that they won today and is in a great moment. And we have always a responsibility to perform. We have always a responsibility to offer the result. But in this moment, we have to be clear. Our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive.
“It’s not a good thing to say, but we need to understand the context.”
Amad and Matthijs de Ligt made welcome returns as substitutes on Thursday night, and both are options to step things up with a start in the capital.
Altay Bayindir was back in the matchday squad but Jonny Evans was not on the bench at San Mames, as he is being carefully managed, while Ayden Heaven, Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee are currently out of action.
Toby Collyer trained individually at Carrington in midweek, as he works on regaining full fitness.
BRENTFORD'S TEAM NEWS
Thomas Frank's side picked up a superb 2-0 away win at Nottingham Forest on Thursday night, thanks to goals from Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa.
Vitaly Janelt has undergone surgery and will not play again this season. Fabio Carvalho and Josh Dasilva also look likely to remain out but there is more positive news on Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago.
“Everyone is safe, fit and okay. We are ready to go again on Sunday. Of course, it is a tight turnaround but it is what it is and we are looking forward to playing,”
said Frank.
“It's all about recovery. From the final whistle until, basically, two hours before the game. We are ready to attack again.”
The south-west Londoners are still in with a chance of making Europe next season.