Manchester United will take on Burnley to realign their campaign after their disappointing performances at Anfield and Stamford Bridge in the Premier League in the past two matches. The Red Devils are six points adrift of league leaders as all their title rivals are in the race for the title with Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool squared off on the top place while Chelsea is just one point below the league leaders.
The Red Devils will be keen to get all the three points against newly-promoted Burnley after their 1-0 victory over their bitter rivals Manchester City in the EFL cup mid-week.`Jose Mourinho is expected to field the best possible XI available as the Premier League giants are not willing to take any chances against Burnley who have earned plaudits for their tightly marked defense.
Despite their recent run of results, Manchester United are firm favorites to clinch the three points at Old Trafford this weekend against Burnley.
Team News:
Manchester United:
One of the major setbacks for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United going into the game against Burnley is the unavailability of Eric Bailly who has suffered a knee injury which has ruled him out for almost 2 months. The defender is arguably the best player in the team under Mourinho and the Portuguese manager will have to look at a potential replacement to ensure the loss is nullified.
Phil Jones and Wilson will remain long-term absentees while Antony Martial who suffered a foot injury is doubtful for the clash. Rooney and Chris Smalling are also yet to achieve match fitness which makes the duo doubtful for the match.
Burnley
The newly promoted side has lesser injury concerns compared to their counterparts as Sean Dyche could be having the complete squad at his disposal. However, Ashely Barnes (Hamstring), Boyd (back), Defour (hamstring) are doubtful for the clash.
What did the managers say?
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: “In the last seven matches, we lost one. It’s better to lose one match 4-0 than four matches 1-0. It’s three points.
“Our run of results is not bad. We lost two points against Stoke, which was the best match by far in our season in terms of chance creation and opportunities.
“We are a team in the process, we won’t do that in three or four months, at this moment we just think about it game by game and Burnley will be very difficult.”
Burnley manager Sean Dyche: “For all the noise that’s been made about the ups and downs of Manchester United over the past couple of weeks they’re still a fine side.
“I look at the manager, the club, the players they’ve got and they’re still a super strong group of people operating at the highest level.”
Key stats:
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has failed to score in five successive league games for the first time since 2010.
- Manchester United have won only one game in their last six Premier League games (D 2, L 3)
Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Burnley
Kick-off time: October 29, 2016 (19:30 IST)