Game Week 24 Predictions: United to beat Burnley at Turf Moor

Maxwell Cornet is back from AFCON and Cristiano Ronaldo is refreshed after the FA Cup debacle, who comes out tops on Tuesday night? (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

Burnley vs Manchester United
Turf Moor
21:00

Burnley played out back to back goalless draws in the premier league but still stay bottom of the log, they can draw inspiration from their defensive solidity against Arsenal and troubled Watford to spring forth and surge from the relegation dogfight.

Manchester United are currently fourth on the table, they would feel they deserve more than that considering the quality in their squad but in all fairness, they have been tepid and unconvincing in their performances and they have no one else to blame than the men in the mirror.

The window slammed shut last week, Manchester United allowed Anthony Martial to leave and loaned out another youngster but news broke out shortly after that Mason Greenwood was involved in a battery and assault allegations which has ruined a lot of the young man’s credibility.

United will be without the fleet footed forward for a while, the end of that is not in sight as lots of his commercial partners have rescinded agreements and he will not be available for selection for a long time to come, that leaves United short upfront.

Jesse Lingard isn’t in the manager’s good books after the England midfielder vented on social media about incorrect statements about him from the German manager, his move away in the winter window was blocked and he’s still reeling from that.

Donny Van De Beek was allowed to join Everton on loan without any replacement, you wonder how United plan to cope with such a lean squad. Burnley added a few names to help their cause after selling Chris Wood to Newcastle, the impact of their new boys would be seen in the coming games.

United must win here to stay fourth, there are no two ways about it and they know the implication of slipping out at this pivotal stage but the Red Devils are known to be great in the second half of the season, that might help them.

Burnley need to win to help their own cause. A rare win over United on Tuesday night would lift Burnley out of the relegation zone at least until their rivals play, they have games in hand and that would be helpful if they take good advantage but you can’t count points you haven’t won.

United will rely on Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes although the two conspired in a way to contribute to their crash from the FA Cup against Middlesbrough last weekend. Edison Cavani and Marcus Rashford are the other possibilities, not forgetting Jadon Sancho and youngster Tony Elanga.

United must win, Burnley must win. A stalemate will be a damaging outcome to either side’s season considering where they currently are, it’s on them to choose their own destiny.