MY ACCOUNT
– Manchester United could be weakened in defence by World Cup absentees
– Burnley have won four in a row
– Recommended bet: Over 3.5 goals
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany made wholesale changes to his starting XI in the early rounds of Carabao Cup but will surely be tempted to test his team’s progress against Manchester United.
The Clarets are flying in Kompany’s debut campaign in English management, sitting top of the second tier and eight points clear of third place at the halfway stage of the Championship season.
While promotion is still far from assured, Burnley have enough breathing space — and five days off after this Old Trafford trip — for Kompany to field a strong team in the League Cup to test themselves against one of England’s elite clubs.
Manchester United, on the other hand, may see this competition as an untimely chore.
The Red Devils are sure to be rusty in their first match back after the World Cup break and will likely be weakened — some United players are still away, while others will need a break after their Qatar exertions.
That will give Burnley hope of springing a surprise.
Team news
United’s first-choice centre-backs Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have yet to return from international duty, while Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Fred, Antony, Tyrell Malacia, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot only returned to Carrington on Monday.
Dalot seems a certain absentee with a hamstring injury but few of those nine World Cup quarter-finalists are expected to play the full 90 minutes.
Cristiano Ronaldo left the club during the international break and Axel Tuanzebe is still a few weeks from returning from injury.
Kompany will be without Burnley’s own World Cup star, Moroccan striker Anass Zaroury, who featured in the third-place play-off and will return later this week.
Midfielder Connor Roberts was wrongly sent off against Middlesbrough last weekend but will only be available if his red card is rescinded in time.
Scott Twine looks more likely to miss out, however, as he had to go off injured just two minutes after coming on as a substitute against Boro.
The stats
While Burnley have lost 3-1 on each of their last two trips to Old Trafford, they avoided defeat in their four previous visits, drawing three times and winning 2-0 in 2020.
They also drew their most recent meeting — 1-1 at Turf Moor in February.
The Clarets head to Old Trafford this week in superb form and Kompany has transformed their approach.
Having previously been cautious and goal-shy, Burnley have this season scored a Championship-leading 46 goals in 23 games but have kept only seven clean sheets.
United have been far from secure, either — nine Premier League teams have a better defensive record this season.
Prediction
United manager Erik ten Hag made seven changes for the previous round of the League Cup and, with so many players only recently back from Qatar, is likely to again field a second-string team in a competition that is not his top priority.
And while this competition is not Burnley’s focus, either, Kompany is building an impressive team at Turf Moor and will sense an opportunity to land a headline-grabbing result against a distracted top-tier opponent.
The Burnley-draw double chance could make an interesting addition to a Bet Builder.
However, backing a high-scoring encounter could be the safer approach.
Burnley have been scoring goals for fun in the Championship while United have been far from watertight when at full strength and will be significantly weakened by defensive absentees for this clash.
First-choice centre-backs Varane and Martinez will both be absent, Dalot is likely to be unavailable and it would be a surprise if any of Maguire, Shaw, Malacia or Casemiro start.
With as many as seven of Ten Hag’s first-choice defensive players potentially missing, goals could be in ready supply — back over 3.5 goals, available at 6/4 with LiveScore Bet.
