Burnley-Manchester United is a match on the sixth day of the Premier League and is played on Saturday at 21:00: TV, formations, predictions.
Erik ten Hag is experiencing his most complicated time since he has been at the helm of Manchester United. The pressure is mounting week by week for the Dutch coach, who was drafted in last year to replicate the good things he managed to do at Ajax.
In his first season on the bench of the Red Devils, there was no shortage of shadows, but overall it was a positive year, if only for the fact that United regained a place in the top four – despite never fighting for the title – and qualified for the Champions League. This, however, must be the season of confirmation, the one in which, inevitably, the bar must be raised: settling for fourth place, especially after the money that the rich ownership is continuing to spend, may not be enough. In the meantime, a nightmarish start has to be reckoned with: three defeats in the first five days for Manchester United, which has never started so badly in its more than 100-year history. The Red Devils have been up against the small teams – Wolverhampton and Nottingham Forest, which they beat with great difficulty – and have lost, also quite sharply, against Tottenham, Arsenal and Brighton.
Does ten Hag’s bench falter?
The number of defeats has risen this week: in the Champions League opener in Munich, United surrendered to Bayern at the end of a pyrotechnic 4-3.
Kompany
The negative protagonist was Onana, the former Inter goalkeeper, who apologised to his teammates in front of the cameras at the end of the match. Beyond the value of the opponent, the match at the Allianz Arena confirmed the difficulties of ten Hag’s team, who managed to keep their goal inviolate only once in six times. A possible tumble also at Turf Moor against the newly promoted Burnley, in short, could seriously shake the bench of the former Ajax coach. As for the Clarets, Vincent Kompany’s proactive and unprejudiced game upstairs is not working so far: after a series of defeats, the first point came only a week ago against Forest.
The Prediction
Manchester United almost obliged to win in order not to further exacerbate the first crisis of the season, which could even lead to drastic decisions. It is better not to trust these Red Devils on the verge of a nervous breakdown again: Burnley, as they have always done up to now, will play with an open mind and should be able to score at least one goal against the fragile rearguard of ten Hag’s team, one of the most beaten in the Premier League (10 goals conceded in five matches) together with the Clarets’ rearguard.
The Burnley-Manchester United line-up probables
- BURNLEY (4-2-3-1): Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, O’Shea, Taylor; Cullen, Brownhill; Zaroury, Ramsey, Koleosho; Amdouni.
- MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Reguilon; Casemiro, McTominay; Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
