Manchester United vs Burnley preview, team news, tickets, and prediction

Manchester United will welcome one of the sides set for an immediate return to the Championship – Burnley. The Red Devils have huffed and puffed this season, and despite numerous disappointments, they are still firmly in the race for a finish in one of the European spots. As for the Clarets, it has been an underwhelming season for them, one which could see them return to the second division with immediate effect. 

For Manchester United, the season has not been that good and they can only fight for a decent finish to pacify the fans. Under the guidance of Erik Ten Hag this term, the Red Devils have failed to a large extent to be consistent and that has left them in a difficult position to achieve great things despite initial promise. 

Forward Marcus Rashford, who should have been one of the leaders this campaign, failed to do that, as he struggled for form and fitness. On the other hand, youngster Alejandro Garnacho offered some flashes at some point, while  Kobbie Mainoo has emerged as a revelation in midfield, and summer signing Rasmus Hojlund, who had his fair share of struggle at the start, is already getting among the goals and could make a significant impact in games before the season is concluded.

Following the departures of Anthony Elanga, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles, Eric Bailly, and Mason Greenwood, Manchester United made strategic additions to their squad, welcoming Rasmus Hojlund, Mason Mount, Andre Onana, Sofyan Amrabat, Johnny Evans, and Sergio Reguillon.

Manchester United have lost embarrassingly to teams like Tottenham, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester City, and Brighton this season. The smaller teams have also had their bite of the cherry, with Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth. On the flip side, a couple of positives for the Red Devils include beating Chelsea 2-1 and thrashing Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park before a goalless draw at Anfield with Liverpool. Apart from that, they also got knocked out of Europe completely before losing to Forest and West Ham on the road. As of the time of writing, United sit just outside the top 5 and a run of fine results could propel them to greater heights before the season comes to an end.

Meanwhile, Burnley, guided by former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, Burnley has faced significant challenges adapting to Premier League life. 

As of the time of writing, they languish in 19th, securing just 13 points from their 25 league matches of the season. Transitioning from a highly successful Championship campaign, where they clinched the league title, to the elite Premier League has proven daunting.

Despite losing key players integral to their promotion, Burnley made noteworthy recruitments. Departures included former captain Ashley Barnes (who moved to Norwich on a free transfer), Matthew Lowton, and Jordan Beyer. On the flip side, crucial additions included James Trafford (acquired from Manchester City for €17.30m), Michael Obafemi from Swansea, Nathan Redmond, Sander Berge, and Jacob Bruun Larsen.

The season’s promising expectations were swiftly dashed by consecutive losses to reigning champions Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur. Burnley finally secured their first point of the season in their fourth match, after a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest. Subsequently, they suffered two consecutive defeats, against Manchester United and Newcastle  United, before finally clinching their first victory of the season with a 2-1 win at Luton Town, thanks to goals from Lyle Foster and Jacob Brunn Larsen. But they failed to keep the consistency, as they lost the following six games. The Clarets then went on to thrash Sheffield United 5-0, before losing to Wolves on December 5. Since that time, the Clarets only won a single Premier League game, and have not won a game in the Premier League in 2024 as of the time of writing.

When the two sides met earlier in the season, Burnley dominated in terms of possession, but Manchester United walked away with all three points and that might just be the case again in this particular encounter.  

Match tickets

The epic match at Old Trafford in Manchester kicks off on Saturday 27th April 2024, at 3 PM UK time. 

United’s 74,031-capacity stadium will be playing host to this fixture between the Red Devils and the Clarets.

Getting tickets for the Manchester United v Burnley tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Erik Ten Hag and Manchester United began 2024 in a much better state. Before the January window, the issues surrounding England forward Jadon Sancho were resolved and the player made his return to Borussia Dortmund. Goalkeeper Andre Onana returned from AFCON duties with Cameroon a better man and has been doing great with United. Generally, injuries have not been fair to Manchester United this season. Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, and Victor Lindelof – who have all spent significant time in the physio’s room – could make their return before this game. 

Manchester United XI: Andre Onana; Harry Maguire, Johnny Evans, Diogo Dalot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Christian Eriksen; Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Rashford.

Vincent Kompany’s Clarets have had a disappointing season so far and would be hoping for a rapid change in fortunes to avoid heading back to the Championship. Burnley, who were without Luka Koleosho (knee injury), Nathan Redmond (Thigh injury), and Charlie Taylor for a while, do have some of them back and they could feature in this game at Old Trafford. 

Burnley: Trafford; Charlie Taylor, Hillary Ekdal, Dara O’Shea, Vitinho, Nathan Redmond, Josh Brownhill, Berge, Brunn Larsen, Amdouni, Jay Rodriguez. 

Prediction

Manchester United recently embarked on a mini-winning streak in the Premier League to improve their point tally on the log in early 2024. However, Burnley went from bad to worse, struggling to pick points against teams they should have one over.

The Red Devils do not need to play quite well here, all they need is the three points and they might just get it. 

Manchester United 2-1 Burnley