Manchester United host Burnley on Tuesday night seeking their ninth straight win and hoping to gain more ground in the race for a top four finish. United and Arsenal are both three points behind Chelsea for the final top four position, with the Gunners currently ahead on goal differential.
Ole Gunnar Solskaer looks to stay perfect in his run as interim boss, and his side will be heavily favored to do so. United are hosting a Clarets side that is only three points above the drop zone, sitting 16th in the table. Under the watch and tutelage of Solskjaer, centre forward Marcus Rashford and midfielder Paul Pogba have found themselves again. Both are now realizing their full potential. It’s hoped that winger Alexis Sanchez will do the same.
“Alexis has great character,” said midfielder Nemanja Matic after United won 3-1 at Arsenal in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday night. Sanchez scored in his first trip back to the Emirates since he left the north London side, but it’s still just his second goal this season. He’s endured an injury riddled campaign this year and after struggling mightily in his first half-season at Old Trafford last term.
Maybe scoring a goal, and helping to achieve a big win at his old stomping grounds will lead to a restart of his career.
“He works every training 100 percent and I’m happy for him because when you work like that, in the game, you can’t play bad so he is doing very well,” said Matic.
“He helps the team. He is a great guy. I’m happy for him because he must understand he is a very important player for us.”
We decided to include the Chilean in our starting XI prediction.
The Bank MUFC Starting XI Prediction vs (4-3-3)
Attack: Alexis Sanchez, Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera
Defenders: Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Diogo Dalot
Goalkeeper: David de Gea
Manchester United vs Burnley FC FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday, January 29, 8pm local, Old Trafford
Google Result Probability: United win 75%, Draw 17%, Burnley win 8%
Injury Report for both sides: go to this link
Form Guide: Manchester United- WWWWW Burnley- WWWDL
Odds: Manchester United 2/7, Draw 11/2, Burnley 14/1
Prediction: Manchester United 3, Burnley 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.