Manchester United host Burnley on Wednesday night at Old Trafford. The last time these two clubs met it ended 0-0 back in August. Manchester United only managed 2 shots on target in that game in comparison to Burnley’s 3.
Manchester United head into this game on the back of a lucky 1-1 draw at West Ham, in which they needed a late Daley Blind equaliser in stoppage time to, rescue a point. This will leave the players slightly satisfied, as a late goal in always good for team morale. Burnley on the other hand, threw away a 2 goal lead against West Brom on Sunday and only managed to get a draw out of what should have been a win so they will possibly still be feeling the effects of that. That will have been a real sucker punch to them, as it would have left them 3 points clear of the relegation zone instead of just 1.
Manchester United have the second best home record in the league this season, so you can be assured Burnley won’t be looking forward to visiting Old Trafford. This combined with the fact that, Burnley have only won 1 of the last 20 fixtures between these clubs, will unnerve many Burnley fans. Louis van Gaal was clearly annoyed and agitated in his press conference before this game, so this would suggest he will send the Manchester United players onto the pitch, with some fire in their bellies and a point to prove. Burnley on the other hand, have the second worst defensive record in the league this season and have already conceded 40 goals in just 24 games. This suggests this game should be a straight forward victory for the hosts but as we know from watching the Premier League this season, anything can happen.
The team selection for Manchester United will be very important, as they will clearly miss Michael Carrick. Carrick’s loss through injury in the early part of the season was a huge loss for Man Utd. During this period, the club only managed 3 wins in the 11 games in which Carrick didn’t feature. Hence, resulting in a win ratio of merely 27%. Since he returned to the starting 11 against Crystal Palace, the club were unbeaten in his first 11 games, winning 8 of these. This is a win ratio of 73%. This highlights just how important he is to Manchester United. He was clearly missed against West Ham, a game in which Manchester United lost the midfield battle. This is an area Burnley will certainly be targeting in their pre match preparation.
Wayne Rooney has not had a single shot on target in the Premier League in 2015. This suggests, he should not be playing in midfield, as he is not good enough in that position to control the game or have an influence as an attacking threat. This is the first time in Wayne Rooney’s career, that he has not managed a shot on target, in 450 consecutive Premier League minutes. I do however feel Van Gaal will continue to play him in that role in the coming weeks and definitely against Burnley. I think Van Gaal will start with the same 11 that started the Leicester game. De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Rooney, Januzaj, Di Maria, Falcao and RVP.
Burnley will also certainly miss Dean Marney who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury. I expect that to be the only change to what is a settled team. I expect Marney to be replaced by Kightly, as he was when substituted against West Brom. I expect them to line up in the following way; Heaton, Trippier, Keane, Shackell, Mee, Boyd, Kightly, Jones, Arfield, Barnes and Ings.
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