Manchester United team news | HDM Sport on Facebook STEVE Bruce will have no hesitation selecting a weakened team when Hull City travel to Manchester United tonight, insisting rotation of his squad is a must ahead of the FA Cup final in 11 days.
With survival guaranteed over the weekend in spite of a 3-1 defeat at Aston Vila, the significance of City's final two Premier League games has been stripped back with a greater prize on the horizon.
Tonight's trip to Old Trafford and Sunday's home game with Everton instead provides Bruce with the chance to assess his options before facing Arsenal at Wembley on May 17 and a handful of players will be invited in off the periphery.
George Boyd, Stephen Quinn and Robert Koren were all mentioned as likely starters at Old Trafford tonight, while either Matty Fryatt or Yannick Sagbo will lead the City attack.
Bruce is keen to rest midfield pair Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore after a demanding season and is also considering omitting his £14m strike pairing of Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic, who are both ineligible for the FA Cup final.
"I will make changes. That's the one thing I will do now," said Bruce, who has never tasted a victory over his former club as a manager.
"There's a lot of players who have played a lot of football so we can freshen them up a bit. It'll be a bit like the early rounds of the cups, all of those lads will play at Manchester United and again at the weekend.
"So, when I do pick a Cup final team they will all have had a bit of football.
"I don't think both Fryatt and Sagbo will start but certainly Koren, Quinn, Boyd, they'll all play.
"It would be nice to freshen certain players up. People like Huddlestone and Livermore have played a lot. They've barely missed a game.
"Also I could do with no more injuries, that's for certain. We'll protect the big ones who need protecting."
City's FA Cup plans have already been hit by injuries in the last week and Bruce is reluctant to take unnecessary chances in the build-up to the biggest game in the club's 110-year history.
James Chester became the latest player sidelined when suffering a hamstring injury in the 3-1 loss at Aston Villa on Saturday, joining Sone Aluko as a doubt for Wembley after he twisted his ankle in training 24 hours earlier.
Bruce bemoaned his squad is now down to the "bare bones" but stressed there are still places to be won in his FA Cup final side.
"There's five or six which pick themselves really, but nothing's a given," added Bruce.
Tonight is only the sixth time in the post-war years that City have visited Manchester United but never has a trip to Old Trafford counted for so little.
While United host what could be a last stand for interim manager Ryan Giggs and stalwarts Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, they are unlikely to improve on their current standing of seventh in the Premier League. City's only aim is to gather momentum ahead of their big day at Wembley.
"Going to Old Trafford, we can go and enjoy it for once. We'll have to go there and play well, a damn sight better than we did on Saturday or we'll not get a kick, never mind a result.
"We've got to the FA Cup final for a first time and in Europe as well so who knows if we could get a first win at Old Trafford. I've not won there as a manager and I've been going for 15 years. It won't be easy but we'll have a crack."
