SQUAD rotation, or ‘playing a weakened team in competitions you don’t care about’, to give the practise its proper name, is once again a hot topic.

Aston Villa and Tottenham both meekly dipped out of the UEFA Cup last week and then failed to reap any real benefit, with the Midlanders dropping two points at home to Stoke and then Spurs losing the Carling Cup final.

Given how seriously Everton took Europe last season, the rubbish draw they got this time around just seems all the more galling when you see other clubs treat it with that sort of disdain.

That said though, it will be interesting to see if David Moyes goes in for a spot of squad shuffling himself at Ewood Park tonight.

Granted, his options are extremely limited given the now ludicrous amount of injuries afflicting his squad, but there must be a temptation to try and protect a couple of players with Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final in mind.

The league would normally be the priority, but does anyone realistically envisage us making up eight points on Aston Villa and finishing in the top four? Especially after watching us play since Mikel Arteta’s injury?

On the other hand, qualification for the rather grandiose sounding Europa League seems virtually nailed on now, given that eight points also separates the Blues from Wigan Athletic.

It would take a hellish run of form for Everton, and an equally great run from the Latics, in order for them to close that gap. And even then we could still gain entry, depending on who wins the FA Cup.

With that in mind then, is it likely that Moyes will take any chances on, say, Louis Saha, against a Sam Allardyce team fighting for Premier League survival?

The balsa-boned Frenchman showed a glimpse of what he’s all about when he scored that glorious goal against West Brom on Sunday, at a point where Tony Mowbray’s team looked like causing an embarrassment, and that sort of class could very well be needed to unlock a Boro team who are going to be full of confidence after beating Liverpool.

Indeed, when the draw was made and then Boro beat West Ham, Everton were playing so well that a semi-final place looked as close to a formality as you can get when facing top-flight opposition. Now though, in this post-Arteta world, nothing seems quite so certain.