[fusion_dropcap boxed="no" boxed_radius="" class="" id="" color=""]W[/fusion_dropcap]ith the madness of Gameweek 34 in full force, the supposedly savvy managers among you will no doubt have at least one Manchester United player among your alumni. The Red Devils were hot property in the FPL world leading up to this week thanks to a delicious looking double against Burnley and City, followed closely by another in Gameweek 37. With an abundance of games on the horizon, a recruitment in red appeared to be a smart move, but managers in their thousands have become suspicious, paranoid of being cuckolded by United's Thursday night bit on the side, the UEFA Europa League. Last Thursday saw 5th place United gruellingly scrape past Belgian champions Anderlecht in extra time and advance to the semi-finals of Europe's peripheral cup competition, this was however at the expense of Marcos Rojo's season and potentially top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic's career as both picked up long term injuries. As Man United's extortionate European campaign continues to cram fixtures into an already congested schedule, the Old Trafford dressing room bares witness to more injury and exhaustion than an orgy at the Incredible Hulk's house, and it looks very likely that the special one will have no choice but to rotate heavily from here on, which spells concern for FPL managers. With all this in mind and two games against Celta Vigo sandwiched between Gameweeks 35-37, I've done my best to help find out what comes next for United by researching how Premier League managers have previously dealt with Europa League Semis and Finals, as well as how tinker-happy current reds manager Jose Mourinho tends to behave during an extended European stay. If you (like me) are still cautiously optimistic that United players remain box office, I'd give this a good read before you consider putting Manchester by the (C).

Fulham 2009/10 (Losing Finalists)

League position before reaching Semis: 12th (GW 32) Final league position: 12th Manager: Roy Hodgson Ah the valiant cottager cup run that convinced both Liverpool and England that Roy Hodgson was a competent manager. If you're unaware of Fulham's unprecedented journey to the Europa League final then I implore you to watch this video and have a look for yourself: [/fusion_text][fusion_youtube id="CW2Pvg-776o" width="" height="" autoplay="false" api_params="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" /][fusion_text] The Central Londoners saw off Shakhtar Donetsk, Wolfsburg and Hamburg as well as amazingly coming back from being 4-1 down against giants Juventus to win 5-4. The current Championship club with a flicker of promotion hope will never forget the season they nearly took home European silverware, but the domestic campaign was a forgettable footnote. Let's see how Woy lined up in the fixtures surrounding their European games and how it compares to their most commonly selected line-up that year... * Key - positions with no name underneath are rotated players, transparent player names in far left column is a player that has achieved enough season appearances to not be considered a rotation. [/fusion_text][fusion_text] [caption id="attachment_7885" align="aligncenter" width="985"] Left to right: Most used line-up, 0-0 draw to Wolves (15th), 2-1 loss to Everton (8th), 4-0 loss to Arsenal (3rd).[/caption] [/fusion_text][fusion_text] This Fulham side are slightly misleading when making comparison to United as the boys in white had literally nothing to play for coming up to their Semi-Finals against Hamburg. Mathematically safe from the drop and light years away from next year's European places, there was an understandable apathy in the three PL games mentioned, especially the 4-0 final day drubbing at the Emirates that featured 6 changes from the usual line-up. Let's give you a clearer look at the changes made...

• SF 1: Fulham 0-0 Wolves, 3 changes (1 attacking mid, 1 centre mid, 1 centre back)
• SF 2: Everton 2-1 Fulham, 6 changes  (1 striker, 2 attacking mids, 1 centre mid, 1 full back, 1 centre back)
• Final: Arsenal 4-0 Fulham, 6 changes  (1 striker, 2 attacking mids, 1 centre mid, 1 full back, 1 centre back)

The stand out player in this side was undoubtedly USMNT legend Clint Dempsey, who was interestingly rested for just one of the three games. Top scorer Bobby Zamora misses games two and three as does Fulham fans' 2009/10 player of the year Zoltan Gera. The then excellent Scandinavian centre back Brede Hangeland missed all three games. The situations of the club are different to United's, however this Europa run was arguably the biggest moment in the clubs history despite being in a time where winning the tournament didn't give you Champions League access. This may somewhat equate to Manchester United's current incentive of winning the tournament, although Mourinho will no doubt be trying harder than Woy to get some Premier League points.

Chelsea 2013 (Europa League Champions)

League position before reaching Semis: 4th (GW 32) Final league position: 3rd Manager: Rafael Benitez Chelsea are most recent English team to lift the trophy, and incidentally the most recent non-Sevillan team to do it too. Having completed a strange double of Champions League followed by Europa in successive seasons, Chelsea had to juggle a mammoth European campaign along with participating in the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. Combining this with reaching the semi-finals of both domestic trophies and the 38 Premier League games, the blues endured an unbelievable 69 games in just one season, a number that remains a record for a Premier League club. Certain sexually liberated readers among you will know full well that getting through a 69 requires several tactical breathes of fresh air, so let's see how Rafa rotated during these games... [/fusion_text][fusion_text] [caption id="attachment_7886" align="aligncenter" width="982"] Left to right: Most used line-up, 2-2 draw with Liverpool (7th), 2-0 win against Swansea (9th), 2-1 win against Aston Villa (15th).[/caption] [/fusion_text][fusion_text] With the amount of games played by the blues, a few scrapes and muscle problems are to be expected, but bite marks? Yes the three games surrounding the end of Chelsea's Europa victory may not have been littered with changes, but they were spoiled with some of the biggest Premier League moments in recent memory with Luis Suarez having a nibble on Ivanovic and Frank Lampard breaking the Chelsea goal record against Aston Villa. With Champions League qualification the priority for a scrutinised and unpopular Benitez, it was in fact the Europa League itself that saw the more unconventional lineups, that being said, let's have a clearer look at the domestic swapsies...

• SF 1: Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea, 2 changes (1 full back, 1 centre mid)
• SF 2: Chelsea 2-0 Swansea, 2 changes  (1 centre back, 1 striker)
• Final: Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea, 3 changes  (1 centre back, 1 full back, 1 striker)

Demba Ba was preferred to 'star striker' Fernando Torres for the two latter games whilst Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea's highest appearance maker of the campaign, was rested before the final. This proved shrewd as goals from both secured a 2-1 win against Benfica. Chelsea's prioritisation of the Premier League is probably thanks to the lack of Champions League promise in that season's EL, but this is an interesting example of how a team in a similar league position to United can still provide strong league line-ups when their semi-final opponents are reasonably beatable. Chelsea faced a young FC Basel in the Semi's. The Swiss side featured a young Egyptian duo of Salah and Elneny and were no pushovers, but the London club were certainly big favourites even with a weakened squad. Celta Vigo sit 10th in La Liga, which if you believe that the Prem is on a par with its Spanish counterpart, is the equivalent of United trying to beat Watford over two legs. I know who I'd be backing (sorry Elton).

Liverpool 2015-16 (Losing Finalists)

League position before reaching Semis: 8th (GW 31) Final league position: 8th Manager: Jurgen Klopp Perhaps the most valuable comparison of the bunch, Liverpool's roller coaster ride of a European campaign last season is the first and only example of a team coming in touching distance of Champions League qualification via its sister competition. The Merseysiders actually beat United on the way to the semi-finals, as well as a breathtaking comeback against Klopp's former side Dortmund that may well go down as the competition's greatest ever moment. [/fusion_text][fusion_youtube id="7gtVGBMhO9o" width="" height="" autoplay="false" api_params="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" /][fusion_text] Liverpool sat in 8th throughout spring. With little to no chance of clawing back a top 4 spot, and only pride keeping them bothering, the league campaign was understandably shelved in favour of a potential European victory. Known for starting teenagers that have you quickly opening Google, let's see how Klopp rotated around the Semi's and Final... [/fusion_text][fusion_text] [caption id="attachment_7884" align="aligncenter" width="1005"] Left to right: Most used line-up, 2-2 draw with Newcastle (19th), 3-1 loss to Swansea (15th), 1-1 draw with West Brom (14th).[/caption] [/fusion_text][fusion_text] During the three games, Liverpool were handing out points like an Irish bloke who's just got a round in. Klopp made no effort in pretending that the games meant anything to him, even making an incredible 11 changes against West Brom on the final day and allowing 17 year old Jonathan Leko to run rings around a makeshift defence. Along with their domestic dignity, the red men lost the final to Sevilla, rendering the many, many changes in vein. Let's have a better look at the German's tinkering...

• SF 1: Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle, 3 changes (1 fullback, 2 centre mids)
• SF 2: Swansea 1-3 Liverpool, 6 changes  (1 goalkeeper, 1 full back, 1 centre back, 2 centre mids, 2 attacking mids)
• Final: West Brom 1-1 Liverpool, 11 changes  (1 goalkeeper, 2, full backs, 2 centre backs, 3 centre mids, 2 attacking mids, 1 striker)

It is worth noting that Mamadou Sakho is controversially included as a 'change' in games 2 and 3 despite being suspended, this is because I believe he would have been rotated regardless, so take that with a pinch of salt. Brazilian poster boys Firmino and Coutinho swapped turns to play whilst fellow playmaker Adam Lallana also made just one appearance. Top outfield appearance maker Nathaniel Clyne sat out all but one game, and most interestingly Daniel Sturridge played two entire football matches and was still healthy enough to score in the final. Liverpool's European exploits of last year are the most recent and perhaps most ponderous example of Man United's current situation, although what must be considered is Liverpool's lack of incentive to play well in the league by this point.  Mourinho has stated that Europa League is the priority, and if that is the case and not simply half-hearted mind games then can we expect the extreme rotation that came with Jurgen's men last year?

Porto 2002/03 (UEFA Cup Champions)

League position before reaching Semis: 1st Final league position: 1st Manager: Jose Mourinho To find Mourinho's only previous Europa League Semi we're going waaaaay back when. It was a time when Europa League was still called the UEFA Cup, Facebook and Youtube didn't yet exist, and Jimmy Savile was a crazy old man on the telly loved by millions. 14 years is a long, long time for a manager to change his views on rotation, but I thought it would be interesting to see the respect (if any) that a young Mourinho has previously given the competition. Mourinho's Porto tenure was the stuff of legend, 5 trophies in just two years including a Champions League title, the first (and maybe last) Portuguese side to win the tournament. Foreshadowing the 2004 triumph was 2003's UEFA Cup win against Henrik Larrson's Celtic. Having already won the league title and with a Portuguese FA Cup final to also worry about, it was understandable for the special one to give Deco and co. a rest, but did he? [/fusion_text][fusion_text] [caption id="attachment_7883" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Left to right: Most common line-up, 3-0 win against Vitoria (4th), 2-1 win against Moreirense (12th), 3-2 win against Varzim (16th).[/caption] [/fusion_text][fusion_text] For reference, this is one of the greatest sides the Portuguese League has ever seen, so it is no surprise that even with a fair amount of rotation, the wins still came. I'm not going to pretend I have any sort of insight or anecdotes from these games, instead let's get a better look at where and when Jose chose to rotate.

• SF1: Porto 3-0 Vitoria - 3 changes (1 full back, 1 centre mid, 1 attacking mid)
• SF2: Morierense 1-2 Porto - 5 changes (2 full backs, 2 centre mid, 1 striker)
• Final: Porto 3-2 Varzim - 7 changes (2 full backs, 3 centre mids, 1 attacking mid, 1 striker)

Deco plays before the second semi-final, but only after having beaten Lazio 4-1 in the first leg, all but wrapping up the tie. Top scorer and top appearance maker Helder Postiga was only excused of the game before the final. Cult hero keeper Baia plays every game. Mourinho seemed to take the UEFA cup very seriously, even resting 5 players before a game that they only had to not lose by three goals. His incentive was certainly to grab the first European trophy of his managerial career and begin to put his name in lights. Jose has come a long way since his Porto days and in many press conferences in the past belittled the UEFA's secondary tournament (without ever thinking he'd be involved in it again), will he give it respect this time round?

What can we conclude?

*A quick reminder for mobile readers: With a few tables approaching, remember that you can scroll across to view the whole table* First of all, I was never under any illusions that any of the research would give a definitive answer of who and how many will be dropped in the coming weeks, the demand for rotation is always situational, but one stand out correlation that CAN be drawn is that as the games go on, the rotation gets heavier: [/fusion_text][fusion_table] [/fusion_table][fusion_text] If this data is to be believed, expect between 2-3 surprise omissions in United's game against Swansea at the weekend. Take the expected 4-5 players rotated before SF2 with a pinch of salt because Man United's Gameweek 36 game is a crunch tie at Arsenal which I expect Mourinho to prioritise. If United are to make the final then perhaps Gameweek 38 is time to sell your Manc assets, 6-7 changes predicted for a home tie with Crystal Palace, and the race for top 4 may be all sewn up by then. But what positions are most at risk? I've totted up the data from the four aforementioned clubs to see where on the pitch the switches take place. [/fusion_text][fusion_table] [/fusion_table][fusion_text] As you can see, the stats show that you should be fine owning David De Gea, Eric Bailly and Marcus Rashford ahead of the Swansea match, and perhaps should be most worried about Antonio Valencia, Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera. It also shows that despite being seemingly safe for the Swansea game, if United are to make the final you should steer WELL clear of whomever is United's out and out striker by Gameweek 38 (Martial, Rashford or Rooney). Another important thing to consider is that even if your player does play, will the team's performance make them worth owning? Let's have a look at the statistics in the games analysed compared to their season as a whole. The table below compares season (S) statistics vs statistics during games surrounding Europa League (E): [/fusion_text][fusion_table] [/fusion_table][fusion_text] As you can see (albeit with a tiny sample size) teams on average tend to earn less points, score less goals, and concede more. Taking the average obtained from this graph and applied to Man United's season, it can tell me that they now have the same goal scoring threat as Palace, and concede as much as Man City (which doesn't seem bad but if you own John Stones you'll know how much City love to concede). It's interesting to see is that Chelsea, the only team who had something to play for in the latter stages of the season, had the most similar form during their three games to the rest of the season. This may mean that Europa League may affect their line-ups, but will not affect their performances. So there we have it. Not groundbreaking evidence by any means but hopefully some food for thought when thinking about what to do with your United boys, and also a nice bit of nostalgia. Whatever you do with your Red Devils, do it with caution, as it is evident that the next few weeks will be a game of rotation minesweeper, and given the sod's law culture of the game, there's probably more chance of the late David Bowie starting than the player we own. [/fusion_text][fusion_text] Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a comment. We've also started a new Facebook page called: Fantasy Premier League Tips. If you're looking for daily tips and advice, give it a like. We promise to only post things that are genuinely useful. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type="1_6" layout="1_6" spacing="" center_content="no" hover_type="none" link="" mer_position="all" padding="" dimension_margin="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset="" last="no" element_content=""][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]