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Manchester United welcome Burnley to Old Trafford tonight as The Reds have the chance to move within 3 points of Chelsea, who sit in 4th place.
Frank Lampard’s men drew with Arsenal on Tuesday and next months tie at Stamford Bridge could be crucial in United’s top four bid.
Burnley will be confident going into the game, Sean Dyche’s side are unbeaten in their last 3 games at Old Trafford. Click here to see the expected line-ups of both teams.
It is sure to be a cagey afternoon but will the game be any different from the one at Turf Moor 3 weeks ago?
Burnley will score from a set-piece
Manchester United will be severely short of big bodies when Burnley come to Old Trafford. Lindelöf and Maguire dealt with their aerial pressure fantastically well at Turf Moor and will be needed to do the same on Wednesday. Lindelöf remains a doubt after falling ill in training, meaning Eric Bailly could be in line to make his first appearance of the season.
It seems like every goal Burnley score is from a set-piece and United have struggled immensely defending them. Solskjær’s men have conceded a goal from a corner against Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Everton in just the last 6 weeks.
Burnley will be looking at the average height of whichever United team they face and be licking their lips. It’s exactly sort of stuff Chris Wood, James Tarkowski and Ben Mee love to see.
Burnley is the lock and Juan Mata is the key
It’s now common knowledge that the way to beat United is to give them the ball. Let United’s midfielders have the ball and nothing will happen. At least this has been the case for the entire season but it was different against Norwich last week. Juan Mata had his best game of the season and provided 2 assists. He was pivotal in breaking down the Canaries deep-lying low block and we could see the same against Burnley.
Daniel James is often ineffective without space in front of him, his crossing leaves a lot to be desired as opposed to Mata, who seems to often find his target. However, with Marcus Rashford being ruled out, runners behind the line could instead be the stumbling block for United.
Mason Greenwood to reach double figures
One academy product out, another one in. Most of the pressure to score goals will now sit on Anthony Martial’s shoulders but expect Greenwood to chip in with some as well.
The youngster always seems to find the corner and it’s not hard to see why Solskjær think that he’s the best finisher he’s ever seen. The 18-year-old is on 9 goals for the season but it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that he leaves the pitch with double figures for the campaign. Presumably with a left-footed shot into the bottom right-hand corner.
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