A cautious Steve Bruce has again promised to protect a handful of his first-team stars when Hull City end their Premier League season at home to Everton on Sunday.
With an FA Cup final against Arsenal now just seven days away, Bruce will consider resting Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore, Curtis Davies, David Meyler and Ahmed Elmohamady.
A slender squad, depleted by injury, ensures wholesale changes are not an option, but the Tigers boss will hope to see Allan McGregor and Paul McShane play some part.
Both McGregor (kidney) and McShane (ankle) are doing everything in their powers to stake a claim for Wembley next weekend and will put their hands up to be included against the Toffees.
Although Sone Aluko (ankle) and James Chester (hamstring) are also refusing to give up hope of featuring in the FA Cup final, their injury-plagued seasons will count against them with time running out.
Elsewhere, Matty Fryatt could earn a first Premier League start even though he has been pencilled in for a lead role at Wembley. Fryatt has not started a game since the FA Cup quarter-final win over Sunderland two months ago.
Possible Hull City line-up to face Everton: McGregor; Rosenior, McShane, Bruce, Figueroa; Koren, Quinn, Livermore, Boyd; Fryatt, Jelavic.Subs: Harper, Davies, Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Sagbo, Meyler, Long.Everton team news
Everton boss Roberto Martinez could include long-term injury victims Lacina Traore and Steven Pienaar for the final day trip to the KC Stadium.
Traore has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury soon after a goalscoring debut against Swansea City in February, while Pienaar has been absent since limping out of the FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Arsenal in March with a knee injury.
Both will be assessed in training on Saturday before the Toffees travel across to East Yorkshire, but providing there are no set-backs both are likely to play some part against Hull City.
Darron Gibson, another absentee since October with a cruciate ligament injury, is also back in training but the final day fixture will come too soon for the Republic of Ireland midfielder.
Kevin Mirallas (groin), Bryan Oviedo (broken leg) and Arouna Kone (knee) have all turned their focus to being ready for the start of next season, where it is unclear if they will be back alongside a cluster of team-mates.
Gareth Barry, Gerard Deulofeu and Romelu Lukaku will all see their loan spells end on Sunday and it remains to be seen if they will be back at Goodison Park next season.
Possible Everton line-up to face Hull City: Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; McCarthy, Barry; Naismith, Barkley, McGeady; Lukaku.Subs: Robles, Alcaraz, Osman, Hibbert, Distin, Pienaar, Traore.Head-to-head: Robert Koren v Gareth Barry
Sunday's fixture could feasibly be a swansong for Robert Koren and Gareth Barry as the two veteran midfielders prepare for an uncertain summer.
Koren will not give up hope of featuring in next weekend's FA Cup final against Arsenal but without a contract tabled for next season, the final Premier League game of the season could prove to be his last at the KC Stadium.
Four excellent years of service will ensure Koren is desperate to bow out on a high but his creativity will be shadowed by the disciplined Barry.
The one-time England midfielder, who is on loan from Manchester City and soon to be a free agent, is wanted by Everton but also rumoured to be on the radars of Arsenal, Tottenham and Monaco.
Everton form guide
Just when a run of six consecutive wins had Everton galloping towards Champions League qualification, the final month of the season has frustratingly seen the wheels come off. Although there was a sweet win over Manchester United, sharpening the axe on former boss David Moyes, Roberto Martinez's men have suffered three defeats in four games. The Toffees will be keen to ensure an excellent season does not end with a third consecutive loss.
Philip Buckingham's preview
There is something not quite right with the Premier League table on the eve of the season's final day.
At the end of a campaign that has barely seen Hull City flirt with relegation, there is now just one team left between them and the bottom three.
Not that it matters beyond the rewards of a balance sheet, but all of a sudden it paints a picture that City have only just scrambled clear of trouble.
Tables may not lie but the Tigers have always felt better than the 16th best team in the league.
City's fortunes could yet get worse with a final fall to 17th if beaten at home by Everton on Sunday.
That really would be a very unflattering conclusion to a famous year.
For Steve Bruce it is a source of disappointment, but home supporters in a sell-out crowd will arguably not care, providing victory comes against Arsenal in the FA Cup final.
However, City owe it to themselves to recapture lost momentum ahead of Wembley.
It will not be easy.
Against an Everton side keen to end their own season of progress on a high in fifth, one eye will inevitably be drawn to a fixture of much greater significance next weekend.
Bruce says the end of the Premier League season cannot come soon enough, but not before delivering a reminder of why it has been so special for the Tigers.
Prediction: Hull City 1 Everton 1
