Expect the senior players on the periphery to hog the minutes, but it’s a great opportunity for youngsters to stake a claim, especially out wide and at the back. It’s a year to the day since O’Reilly shone against Watford, and few on here would now advocate that he goes on loan to get game time; he looks the part now, and at this rate he has a bright future ahead of him.
We already have openings out wide now and potential openings at the back next season, so it would be ideal if a couple of academy prospects shone tonight. It would also help us down the line with the homegrown issue and allow us to buy the right players at the right price next summer, rather than paying an English premium to make up numbers.