England Premier League
Thursday 30th December 2021
Kick off at 8:15pm GMT
Venue: Old Trafford
Match Preview:
Manchester United’s recent draw against Newcastle was some sort of salvage but would still have felt like a loss. Going into that game Ralf Rangnick’s team would have been the hot favourites to win it, certainly considering how poor Newcastle have been this season but the Magpies played well enough to take all 3 points. In the end the veteran forward Edinson Cavani saved some blushes and Rangnick’s first defeat but there were worries after the game.
Rangnick of course needs time to adjust to his new role but we can’t praise ‘the new manager syndrome’ and then disregard a slow start. Since Rangnick has come in United have won 2 and drawn 1 in the league. Those victories have come against Crystal Palace and Norwich and both were very close 1-0 wins. The worry for the club is that little has changed, but again we have to give the benefit of the doubt to Rangnick for now. Expect the media to go into overdrive though if United do not win this game.
Currently United are in seventh place and are 7 points adrift of 4th placed Arsenal and fourth has to be the clubs objective this season. The good news is that they have played two games less than Mikel Arteta’s side, so this is in fact a huge must win game. Though it has been easy to criticise the Red Devils this season at the end of the day they have not lost a game in the Premier League for five weeks and they have won 11 points from their last 15, so there is a lot of hope and it isn’t all doom and gloom. One player that everyone will always talk about is Cristiano Ronaldo of course and he has made an impact but he is such a calibre of player that if he goes 2-3 games without scoring a goal or puts in subdued performances it tends to get noticed and much of December has witnessed a no-show Ronaldo, can that change with this game and United’s last of 2021?
Burnley have not played a game since December 12th because of the new Covid outbreak and a plethora of postponements in the league. The club have drawn four from their last five games with their last match finishing in a 0-0 draw against West Ham. Sean Dyche’s team are currently in 18th place and are 2 points adrift of safety. There is some good news and that is because of the postponements they know what to do and have 2 games in hand over the team directly above them in Watford.
Away form has been poor and the club are still searching for their first away victory of the season and from 8 games played it is four draws and four defeats. The clubs last game on the road ended in a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle, which incidentally was the Magpies first win of their season.
Team News:
Manchester United: Victor Lindelof is out with Covid-19, Paul Pogba is still out with his thigh injury.
Burnley: Ashley Barnes has a thigh injury which has been on going and there has been no updates on the player. Maxwell Cornet has recovered from his initial thigh injury but remains a doubt and is only 50/50 for this game. Connor Roberts is ill. Dale Stephens is being tipped to return but does have fitness issues and will have to be assessed.
Man Utd vs Burnley Head to Head:
Last season Manchester United won this game 3-1.
From the past 13 meetings Burnley has just 1 win although it did come at Old Trafford in 2020.
There is a 70% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
Man Utd vs Burnley Prediction:
Ralf Rangnick has overseen 4 games in total for Manchester United who in each one has failed to score more than 1 goal- we think that could change in this game. With an almost full team, a sold out home crowd and of course the clubs last game of the year at home we expect to see a United side who turn up not to just win the game but win it well. The draw at Newcastle was no good, but it did save a defeat and some of the players would have taken heart in that and should be able to come into this game wit renewed energy even if the games are coming thick and fast.
As mentioned before this is a must win game because Arsenal could really pull away by next weekend and there are also teams between United and the Gunners. To top it off Burnley have been incredibly poor away from home and have the 2nd to worst record in the league. United are around 1.40 to win the game so the better value option could be to back the home side on the -1 asian handicap. We do expect goals in this game also.
Man Utd vs Burnley Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (-1 Manchester United) at 1.60
Anytime goalscorer: Cristiano Ronaldo at 1.66
Anytime goalscorer: Mason Greenwood at 2.25
© Copyright topfootballtipster.com 2019
