The Moroccan international was given the night off at the Theatre of Dreams after the winger had joined his international team-mates — the Qatar World Cup’s fourth-place finishers — to a hero’s welcome in their homeland.
The former Charleroi star, who has scored six times for the Clarets in all competitions this season, is back in contention after being out of action since the 3-0 win over East Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers in mid-November.
Nathan Tella’s availability is still up in the air with the Southampton star missing games against Middlesbrough and United through illness, though Manuel Benson should be fit to feature after suffering from cramp during the fourth round tie.
However, Vitinho has been ruled out until after the new year with boss Vincent Kompany confirming that the Brazilian right back had suffered an impact injury in training at the club’s base at Gawthorpe.
Here’s our how the Championship leaders could line up against Birmingham City at Turf Moor.