It is often said that good things come in threes, and that was definitely the case for Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium on Thursday night. Not only did they take a huge stride towards the Europa League final, beating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the first leg of their semi-final showdown, but they also welcomed Matthijs de Ligt and Amad back from ankle injuries. De Ligt, who replaced Harry Maguire after 65 minutes, had missed the last six games and Amad had been unavailable for almost three months. He got six minutes under his belt, replacing Patrick Dorgu late on. By the time both players had stepped onto the pitch, the contest was as good as over. United's three-goal blast in the last 15 minutes of the first half had put the contest beyond Athletic, who will travel to Old Trafford next week facing the steepest of uphill struggles. But before United and head coach Ruben Amorim can give any thought to the return leg with the Spanish outfit, they must navigate their way through Sunday's Premier League clash with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium. Just like last weekend's trip to Bournemouth, it feels like another meaningless away day. However, given the tight turnaround time between the trip to Bilbao and the trip to the capital, the clash with the Bees is likely to be a big occasion for some of United's fringe players and youngsters. Despite taking a 3-0 aggregate lead into next week's second leg with Athletic, Amorim should be wrapping the vast majority of his main men in cotton wool on Sunday and saving them for the main event four days later. It has already been confirmed Noussair Mazraoui will play no part. The likelihood of Amorim rotating his pack will almost certainly see the likes of Harry Amass, Luke Shaw, Christian Eriksen, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount drafted into the starting XI. There is also a chance that De Ligt and Amad will start after making their returns via the bench in the Basque Country. Amad was a strong contender for the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award prior to his injury, excelling following Amorim's appointment as head coach in November; his first 20 appearances under him yielded six goals and six assists. With United currently looking a strong bet to reach the Europa League final, Amad will want to play his way back into contention for a regular starting berth. He will only strengthen those aspirations by playing. If he is fit enough to start on Sunday, it would be no surprise to see him start as the right-sided No.10. After initially operating at wing-back under Amorim, he was moved into a more advanced role to give United a left-footed presence in that area. With Amad potentially taking the right-sided No.10 spot, Mount could be in line to occupy the opposite berth. He is yet to find any sort of rhythm since recovering from his latest injury, meaning Amorim, who is a huge fan of his, should give him the opportunity to try and flex his muscles against the team he has scored his only United goal against. Rasmus Hojlund led United's attack in Bilbao and, in Amorim's opinion, had his best game since he replaced Erik ten Hag. He is the club's only available striker for the Europa League amid Joshua Zirkzee's absence through injury and Chido Obi's ineligibility, meaning he should be rested against the Bees. With that in mind, there has never been a better opportunity for Amorim to give United's fans what they have been waiting for and give Obi his full debut. The talented 17-year-old has made six substitute appearances since making his debut in February, with his last two cameos in the Premier League amounting to 35 minutes. The youngster has been excellent for the Under-18s this term and has looked sharp when given opportunities from the bench by Amorim, meaning he has worked his way into a position where he is ready to secure his first start in senior football. The prospect of him leading the line and being supported by Amad and Mount would, of course, mark the birth of a previously unseen United attack, but it would be one worthy of experimenting with with the pressure off. United supporters are drooling over Obi's potential, while they have also been wowed by Amad's improvements under Amorim. With full focus on the second part of the Europa League semi-final, Amorim can afford to play around this weekend.