The creativity of the latter pair will also come in handy in the weeks and months to come, but at somewhere as thankless as United, it’s Neville’s determination and organisational qualities that carry the highest premium.

The club captain is the definitive example of the player who is only fully appreciated in his absence.

He’s not the most naturally gifted footballer ever to pull on a blue shirt, or indeed a red one, and he has always attracted more than his fair share of critics throughout his career, but it can’t be a coincidence that a pair of managers as shrewd as Moyes and Ferguson rate him so highly.

And if he does play, it might also allow Jack Rodwell to have a rest.

If that’s not the case though, and the youngster does start, Evertonians could end up watching the match with mixed emotions. Rumours abound that United are preparing to bid for the teenager in January, so even though these decisions are clearly made on more than the evidence of a single game, every good touch he has could still feel a bit like a nail in the coffin of his Goodison career.