Jose Mourinho and Manchester United will be looking to keep their winning momentum going and their charge for a top finish alive when they face off against Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday. The Red Devils go into this match as favourites on the back of the semi-final berth in the Europa League and a win against Chelsea in the last Premier League match.
However, despite Manchester United's form, they should be concerned about Burnley, who have been outstanding at home this season. Sean Dyche's team have collected 36 points in total so far, of which 32 have been at home. This tally is the best by a promoted team since Charlton Athletic collected 34 points in the 2000/01 season.
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Burnley are the clear underdogs heading into this match having won just one match in their last five games. But the fact that they drew to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the previous fixture will give them confidence.
Burnley have one of the smallest squads in the Premier League and its highly unlikely Dyche will make a number of changes. Dean Marney and Johann Berg Gudmondsson remain sidelined with long-term knee injuries and apart from them Burnley have no other injuries or suspensions.
This is set to be a big match for former Manchester United player Michael Keane who will be keen to raise his stock in the Premier League. The Burnley manager is aware of the threat Manchester United poses considering the quality of players they have. But, he will be determined to continue his impressive home form.
"United's end of the market is different to ours, but they've been so dominant in so many games they probably should have won and haven't. They are a top side, you only have to look at the players they have, they are always going to be strong. On the day at Old Trafford in October, they were the best side we've played against this season," BBC quoted Dyche as saying.
Despite Manchester United's amazing form in the last few months, their most recent win in the Europa League came at a price as they lost two of their main players in striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and defender Marcos Rojo. The two are expected to be out for the rest of the season but given Marcus Rashford's current form, his pace could cause a lot of trouble to the Burnley defence.
Manchester United cannot afford any more slips in the race to finish in the top four. The Red Devils could still end up qualifying for the Champions League by winning the Europa League, but they should leave nothing to chance.
Mourinho has lot of defensive issue to deal with this match as Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are also ruled out but they could be boosted by the return of Wayne Rooney who was on the bench against Anderlecht.
Following those injuries to Ibrahimovic and Rojo, the Manchester United manager admitted that they are in trouble with Jones, Smalling and Rojo out. Eric Bailly could also miss out after he played six matches in a row. Mourinho also spoke about Rooney's form this season saying he has the experience to play at the top level despite missing a number of games.
"We are in trouble. We are in trouble. In this moment, Eric Bailly played six matches in a row, 540 minutes in a row, we've lost Marcos Rojo, we don't have Jones, we don't have Smalling, we are in trouble. And now we lose Zlatan, too, but in attack we have options and Rooney is coming and let's see if Mata can also return before the end of the season, let's see what happens," Mourinho said.
"He has a good mentality. He's a fighter, he's a strong man, even if he's not in the best of his condition, even if he's not in the level of sharpness that you need to play high level football but he has the experience, he has the character, so he has to."
Where to watch
The Premier League match between Burnley and Manchester United is set to start at 2.15 pm local time, 6.45 pm IST and 9.15 am EST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV: Star Sports select HD 1. Live Streaming: Hotstar
UK: TV: Sky Sports 1/HD. Live streaming: Sky Go
USA: TV: NBCSN, Telemundo. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live
Africa: TV: Super Sport 3. Live streaming: Super Sport live
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports Arabia. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect
