He has to balance the need to bust a gut to reach a Wembley final with a desire to keep his better players fresh for a League One promotion push that has stalled badly this month.
If anything a defeat to Blackpool at home on Saturday makes tomorrow’s game more important. This is a Posh team in need of any sort of win to breathe some confidence into the squad, and reaching a Wembley final would be a huge boost for everyone.
It’s a situation made more complicated by a trip to local rivals Cambridge United next Saturday when Posh will be keen to end a miserable run of results at the Abbey Stadium.
The PT did consider resting the entire first-choice XI, but that would be asking for trouble having raised hope among the fanbase that a first Wembley trip for 10 years was in the offing.
Instead we made three changes to the team that lost to Blackpool at the weekend, but retained the 4-2-1-3 formation.
5. HARRISON BURROWS
There is no realistic alternative at left-back to the captain who is currently the most creative player in the squad. Photo: Joe Dent
6. JEANDO FUCHS
Posh could do with some steel in their side and Fuchs is the man to provide it. We're giving midfielder Archie Collins a rest. Posh won 4-2 at Blackpool without him in October. Photo: Joe Dent
7. HECTOR KYPRIANOU
The classy midfielder looked like he was coming back to his best at the weekend. He's a better foil for Fuchs than Collins. Photo: Joe Dent
8. KWAME POKU
Poku and Mason-Clark are heavily marked these days as opponents know Posh have a far bigger threat down the flanks than down the middle. We'd move Poku inside to the '10' role where he can cause issues for Oliver Norburn if he gets the ball enough. Joel Randall deserves a spell on the sidelines after some weak recent efforts. Photo: Joe Dent