Manchester United-Burnley is a League Cup fourth round match to be played on Wednesday at 21:00: stats, line-ups and predictions.
During the break for the Qatari World Cup, Manchester United closed the Cristiano Ronaldo chapter once and for all. In recent months, CR7 had become more of an unwieldy presence than an asset, and his discontent – coach Erik ten Hag regarded him as a reserve – inevitably also affected the mood of his teammates.
The former Ajax coach will now have some less pressure on his shoulders but he will have to keep working hard to open the long-awaited new cycle and make the Red Devils competitive again both in Europe and in the Premier League. Manchester United, currently fifth in the standings three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, will start again next week with a league match against Nottingham Forest. Before that, however, the fourth round of the League Cup awaits them with Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, who was captain of city rivals City as a player. The former Citizens man has the not easy task of leading the Clarets back to the top flight after last year’s painful relegation. And so far it can be said that he is succeeding: Burnley are in first place, they have carried out a real breakaway and with 47 points from 23 matches they look down on everyone, boasting a margin of seven points from third place.
The Championship has already been underway for a fortnight and in the first two matches after the World Cup break the Clarets took home two more victories: 3-0 at Queens Park Rangers and 3-1 at Middlesbrough. For the Red Devils, on the other hand, only two friendlies were played during the mini-retreat in Spain, in which two defeats came at the hands of Spain’s Cadiz (4-2) and Betis (1-0). Two matches played, however, without most of the starters, back from their commitments with their respective national teams in the World Cup. The only ones who could already be available in the League Cup are Eriksen, Malacia and Maguire.
Burnley players’ jubilation
The Prediction
A match that can hide several pitfalls for Manchester United, who are forced to face this cup challenge with a limited number of players. Victory should come regardless, but there is a good chance that Burnley, the best attack in the league with 46 goals in 23 games, could score at least one goal on the night at Old Trafford.
The Manchester United-Burnley matchday squad
- MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Malacia; McTominay, Eriksen; Elanga, Van de Beek, Garnacho; Martial.
- BURNLEY (4-2-3-1): Peacock-Farrell; Taylor, Harwood-Bellis, Beyer, Maatsen; Cullen, Bastien; Manuel, Brownhill, Churlinov; Barnes.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
