Premier League: Manchester Mad For It In Burnley

Burnley vs Manchester United

Ralf Rangnick’s Manchester United will make the short trip north on Tuesday to take on strugglers Burnley in a huge clash for both clubs.

Premier League: Burnley vs Manchester United brings together two teams which are desperate for a victory but with different rather different problems facing them. Manchester United have just crashed out of the FA Cup and are in a battle royal for a top four place, while Burnley are in serious relegation trouble and can’t seem to buy a win.

The Red Devils come into the game on the back of a penalty shootout loss to Middlesbrough while the Clarets were frustrated in a 0-0 home draw to Watford, so both will be keen to put things right on Tuesday. I don’t expect the Burnley vs Manchester United highlights to be a defence versus attack encounter but there will be a contrast in styles. It’s lazy journalism to simply describe Burnley as a long ball team, more accurate to say they will mix up their styles and play to their strengths, while the Red Devils will try to keep the ball on the floor particularly if the weather at Turf Moor is as blustery as it was on Saturday.

Talking Points

Ronaldo set to take his bow in East Lancs

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Whenever a world star appeared in the Premier League, in days gone by, the wise men used to ask, ‘will he be able to do it on a wet Tuesday night in Stoke?’ The inference being that the Potters were the embodiment of English toughness, the ‘never say die’ merchants and exponents of the bone crunching tackle in blizzard conditions, and with a dangerous strike at the heart of the lesser warriors. Well, Stoke went the way of all clubs outside the ‘Big Six’ who eventually say goodbye to the glitter and glamour of the top flight and were replaced by Burnley as the club which sends a shiver down your spine.

So the great Cristiano Ronaldo is about to witness a wet Tuesday night in Burnley, but he is no shrinking violet and will be well up for the fight. CR7 has often cut a frustrated figure since his return to Old Trafford in the summer, seemingly bewildered by the change in the club which he left to go to Real Madrid in 2009. Manchester United have fallen from the lofty perch of champions of England and Europe to bystanders over the past decade and now the main objective is to stay in the top four.

A late winner scored by Marcus Rashford, in a recent clash with rivals West Ham, shows the Red Devils have the stomach for the battle and they will need to show that in abundance on Tuesday. And if the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes play to their potential, alongside CR7, then surely they will have too much quality for the beleaguered Clarets.

Can Weghorst and Cornet save the Clarets?

When Burnley bounced back into the Premier league in 2016, the hope was to stay in the division for at least two campaigns, but over the past six seasons they have had two top ten finishes and a foray into Europe, and never been in a relegation battle at the end of any season. But unless they go on one of their customary winter winning runs that is about to change as they sit rock bottom, though the Clarets do have games in hand.

Wout Weghorst prepares as Burnley clash against Manchester United in the Premier League — Wout Weghorst in action during Burnley’s match against Watford FC

Any team which has lost just eight of their first 19 games would expect to be mid table; but that necessitates a few wins and Burnley have just one to go with their ten draws. At the start of the campaign they were scoring freely but conceded equalisers, often late in the game, to Leeds, Leicester City, Southampton and Crystal Palace. The Clarets have since rediscovered their strong jaw but the goals have dried up. Picking up points away to Chelsea and Arsenal are good results, but 0-0s with Norwich and Watford are certainly not.

Burnley need to win six or seven of their next 19 games to survive and that requires a fast turnaround. Dyche’s defence is sound and summer signing Maxwell Cornet has impressed, scoring six goals in 11 starts, and the addition last week of 6ft 6in striker Wout Weghorst has signalled the club’s intentions. The Dutch striker scored 59 goals in 118 appearances for Wolfsburg and has said he feels he is a perfect fit for the Clarets.

Weghorst looked a little off the pace in admittedly horrific conditions against Watford, but he’s a proven goal scorer and if Burnley’s chief suppliers, Connor Roberts, Dwight McNeill and Charlie Taylor can find their range then Weghorst could thrive.

I reckon Burnley’s two new stars need to score another 15 goals or so between them for the Clarets to climb above at least three teams. It could be well worth watching.

History

Manchester United have won four of the last six meetings with Burnley, including a 3-1 win at Old Trafford in December, but the Clarets will hold on to a 2-0 victory they had in 2020 as evidence the Red Devils can be beaten.

Betting Tip

	Burnley vs Manchester United	Burnley Asian Handicap +1.00 @ 1.89
	February 09, 04:00 (GMT+8)

The Burnley vs Manchester United betting odds are right behind the visitors at a price 1.55; I expect they will come through but in a tight game in which Burnley would be happy with another point. For an alternative bet Under 2.50 goals is at SBOTOP odds of 2.00.