Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may surprise everyone by fielding a daring, attacking lineup in Manchester United's Europa League final against Villareal tomorrow.
For all but a few games this season, the manager has used Scott McTominay and Fred as twin pivots in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
However, with both players struggling for form and picking up injuries recently, there is evidence that the Norwegian may be considering a change.
If 'McFred' starts, Mason Greenwood is usually the attacking player who drops to the bench, with Marcus Rashford moving to the right, Paul Pogba to the left, and Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani playing through the middle.
Greenwood, on the other hand, was rested for United's final Premier League game of the season against Wolves on Sunday, which could indicate that he is in the manager's plans to play 90 minutes in Gdansk.
The 19-year-old deserves to be in the starting lineup and has been one of the Premier League's most potent weapons in recent months.
But Rashford, Cavani, Fernandes, and Pogba are all unstoppable, so someone has to go, and it could be Fred, with Pogba moving ahead of McTominay and behind Fernandes.
It would be heartbreaking for Fred, who has served admirably as the engine room for this United team all season. Those 47 high-energy outings, however, may have taken their toll, and he has appeared slightly jaded in recent weeks.
Solskjaer's decision would be a risk because it would put even more pressure on McTominay to protect a leaky defense without captain Harry Maguire.
It would, on the other hand, throw down the gauntlet to Villareal, springing a surprise in the hopes of taking an early lead, with the Brazilian potentially coming on later to help protect that lead.
With Maguire out, Eric Bailly is expected to partner with Victor Lindelof at the back, though Axel Tuanzebe's impressive performance against Wolves on Sunday could provide another surprise.
In terms of goalkeeping, it has appeared at times this season that Solskjaer himself does not know who his best keeper is, but we believe he will go with the more experienced David de Gea on this occasion, leaving Dean Henderson disappointed.
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