Manchester United will host Aston Villa at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, knowing they can strengthen their grip on a Champions League place with a victory.
The Reds currently sit third in the Premier League table, level on points with Villa, and could move six points clear of fifth-placed Chelsea with a win, following the Blues' loss to Newcastle on Saturday night.
But after a disappointing performance last time out against the Magpies themselves, interim manager Michael Carrick must make changes to ensure that standards and performance levels don't slip, and that means wielding the axe in his starting lineup.
Carrick Must Make Changes to Win
Michael Carrick
Since taking over at Old Trafford, Carrick has largely opted against making changes to his starting lineup unless necessary. Benjamin Sesko finally forced his way into the lineup recently having consistently scored off the bench, but the team looked bereft of ideas in attack against Newcastle, despite playing against ten men for the majority of the game.
United cannot afford to have that same issue against Villa, who have been struggling for form domestically, but finally returned to winning ways in midweek when they defeated Lille 1-0 in France in the Europa League.
Carrick's side have had 11 days of rest leading up to this game, and it should provide them with the energy and urgency that they need to start fast, hurt their opponents and claim all three points.
But to do that, Carrick must go with players in their best positions, and that should see Brazilian star Cunha drop out of the side rather than being shoe-horned in on the left wing.
Cunha Must Sit This One Out
Matheus Cunha vs Arsenal
Cunha has been a good signing since arriving from Wolves, with Ben Foster describing him as 'unreal'. But his form has come in patches, and when he's struggling, he tends to negatively affect the whole team around him by taking too many touches and slowing the game down too much.
His quality is undeniable, but Carrick has had Amad on the bench for recent games, and the Ivorian has the perfect skillset to come back into the side and offer an immediate threat that could hurt Villa.
With Bryan Mbeumo moving to the left wing, Amad on the right and Bruno Fernandes supporting Benjamin Sesko centrally, the team would still be perfectly balanced and have a great threat for the opponent, while Cunha has proven he can come off the bench to positive influence games this season.
It may seem harsh, but if Carrick wants to take a big step forward towards qualifying for the Champions League, then it's a necessary decision to make.