Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will play his youngsters in the Carling Cup tonight against Scunthorpe United.
Ferguson can ring wholesale changes to his side as he seeks to placate and educate various action-starved squad members, while commencing another tilt at a competition the Reds have won twice in succession.
"We played a lot of young players last season and they all acquitted themselves well," Sir Alex told ManUtd.com. "We'll do the same tomorrow at Scunthorpe. A lot of my young players will play. Bebe is training very well. He'll be involved tomorrow night. Federico Macheda will as well.
"The Carling Cup's served us well over the last few seasons - it allows me to keep everybody happy in terms of giving people games and we've reached the last two finals, which has its obvious advantages. Playing at Wembley and competing for medals on the big stage is terrific for players' development."
Despite overcoming Aston Villa and Tottenham in the last two finals, the Reds' previous pair of Carling Cup campaigns were curtailed by underdogs. But even those early exits, against Coventry City and Southend United, provided valuable lessons.
"In retrospect, going out in the early rounds - like we did against Coventry and Southend - are good experiences, too, although we'd always prefer to win," admitted Sir Alex.
"I remember when Coventry came to Old Trafford and beat us. Our lads simply forgot it was a cup tie and forgot that the penalty for a poor performance was getting knocked out of the competition. Coventry, on the other hand, were very hungry and you have to say they deserved to win. That was a big lesson and that will help us tomorrow night."
