The phrase "an unexpected request" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when referring to a request that was not anticipated or foreseen.
Example: "During the meeting, I received an unexpected request from my manager to lead the new project."
Alternatives: "a surprising request" or "an unforeseen request".
SHORTLY before he died of cancer in January, the designer Charles Nolan made an unexpected request.
When Reprieve attorney Cori Crider met her youngest client, 19-year-old Mohammed el Gharani, before his release from Guantánamo Bay in 2009, he made an unexpected request.
After thousands took to the streets outside the Kremlin to protest against the sentence, the prosecution made an unexpected request to release the opposition leader from police custody during the appeal process, and Navalny returned to Moscow to continue his mayoral campaign.
Facing political opposition in the White House, TransCanada has made an unexpected request to halt the review process of the controversial $8-billion Keystone XL pipeline, currently underway in the US State Department.
Take this time to let the other bridesmaids know about your personal budget restrictions and how much you can contribute to a bachelorette party, a joint shower gift or any unexpected requests that may arise.
A week in advance, he made a rather unexpected request to hang out with me without Liz and my roommate Mia around, and given my previous experience with this overly self-assured type of guy, I was bewildered.
In one corner of the space a study had been meticulously built, complete with knickknacks, books and, at the slightly unexpected request of Black, a menorah.
I have witnessed similar reactions in parish clergy, visibly inconvenienced by the unexpected request of some elderly parishioner to 'confess' before Mass.
After my full-time commitment saw Slawsa placed in over 4,000 stores nationally, I got the unexpected request to buy out the equity from my former partner.
And when we asked our trusty readers whom they'd nominate to lead the city, we got some unexpected requests... and even a few conspiracy theories.
Some unexpected requests are part of the job and are truly important, but most aren't urgent, important, or even relevant to our work.
