UEFA Cup hero, Jared Borgetti, could be back on the sidelines at Manchester City tomorrow when Sam Allardyce's rotation policy gets its first serious test of the season.
The Mexican hot shot scored his first goal in a white shirt to rescue a dramatic victory for Wanderers on their European debut on Thursday night.
But Kevin Davies, who watched the 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv from the subs' bench, is expected to return to lead the attack at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Gary Speed, missing in midweek after picking up a slight hamstring injury in training, and Tal Ben Haim, rested after recent problems with a stomach strain, are both expected to be back.
Kevin Nolan, one of the three second half substitutes whose introduction paid dividends against the Bulgarians, is strongly fancied to be restored to the first 11.
Japan international, Hidetoshi Nakata, who made his debut in the European tie, is likely to return to the bench but Allardyce will wait for a fitness check on Jay Jay Okocha, who picked up an ankle injury in Thursday's European game, before making his final selection.
Nevertheles, the manager made it clear today that individual performances in the Plovdiv game are unlikely to influence his decisions. "It won't be difficult at all, he said. "The team will have to change, the squad will have to be used.
"Some of the players who played 90 minutes will not turn out tomorrow, some of the players who made smaller contributions will turn out, and some of the players who didn't turn out will start. That's why we've put a squad together to cope with the extra demands this season, and the big demand for us now is handling the Premiership immediately after the UEFA Cup.
"The players who do play have a big test ahead of them. After coming back to get a great victory on Thursday, they have to get a result at Manchester City. And to do that, they mustn't allow the fatigue, either physical or mental, to put them off what they have to do.
"That's what I expect of them, otherwise I won't be happy."
Allardyce has taken advice from his fellow Premiership managers, Sir Alex Ferguson and Steve McClaren, to support his own research that shows players always struggle for form on the weekend after playing in Europe - particularly when they play teams who have had a free midweek.
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