He may be a total novice compared to Pep Guardiola when it comes to preparing a side to play in a Manchester derby but I am guessing Michael Carrick will not want to give much away about his likely line-up or the formation he is going to play at Old Trafford tomorrow.
However, there is one glaringly obvious issue he needs to navigate.
Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo are both back from the Africa Cup of Nations and have been, arguably, United's most creative players this season.
Amad was on the bench for the opening game of the season against Arsenal and started all the rest until his departure for Morocco. Mbeumo has started all the Premier League games he was available for.
But it is not expected Carrick will use wing-backs and no-one views Amad as a full-back, even though Sir Alex Ferguson converted Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia back there during his time as United boss.
To get them both into a 4-2-3-1 formation, it would either mean Bruno Fernandes continuing in the deeper role he didn't look suited to under Ruben Amorim – which leads to leaving Kobbie Mainoo on the bench, Matheus Cunha getting dropped, or the former Wolves man being picked as a number nine, with no room for Benjamin Sesko.
It feels like the biggest call Carrick has to make, beyond whether to recall Harry Maguire in central defence and Luke Shaw at left-back.
