Carlos Carvalhal is expected to make several changes for Saturday’s home FA Cup third round tie with Fulham.
Carvalhal says he will field the best team at the time to win the game but, with important home Championship games with Bolton on Tuesday and then Leeds on the following Saturday, he seems sure to rest some first team regulars.
The head coach said he had regretted not giving some players a break when we lost at Charlton in November, adding that he had planned to rest some of them but, with the team on a good run, his emotions got the better of him and he did not do so.
He also talked of how different players recover from matches at different speeds and, with the three games in a week, this all appears to indicate that he will make changes for the cup tie.
Squad players such as Jose Semedo, Lewis McGugan, Rhoys Wiggins, Jeremy Helan and Modou Sougou could be given starts and Carvalhal confirmed today that Sergiu Bus and Marco Matias are now back in full training after lengthy lay-offs, although they are not fully fit at this stage.
There is also still a question mark over Gary Hooper’s availability for the cup tie, with his loan spell from Norwich due to end later this month. Reports have said the Canaries want £3.5m for the striker while Carvalhal has said he would be keen to keep him at S6 until at least the end of the season.