Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill intends to hand forgotten pair Nigel Reo-Coker and Emile Heskey a start against Sunderland in this week's Carling Cup tie.
O'Neill has pencilled in both players when he picks the team to play Sunderland in the Carling Cup on Tuesday night.
He said: "We've got a much stronger squad this season than at any time in my three years here, and that means I have more options to rotate the team. I'm aware that when the big clubs do it, it's called rotation, but when I do it people say it's being dropped.
"But it's important to establish that it's a long, hard season and you need to make use of all the players at different times."