Vista Previa para Burnley – Manchester United
Burnley’s brief foray into continental competition came to an end in midweek, with their 1-1 draw at Turf Moor being far from enough to overturn the 3-1 deficit from the first leg against Olymiakos. Undoubtedly this will be a disappointment, but Sean Dyche will be hopeful that the return to a normal fixture schedule can solve their Premier League troubles.
The Clarets fantastic showing in the top flight last season was never likely to be replicated, but few thought that their season would start quite so badly. They were unfortunate not to win their opener away against Southampton, but since then they have wilted even further. They lost 3-1 at home to Watford and 4-2 at Craven Cottage last weekend, leaving them with just a single point to show for their three games so far.
One notable change to Burnley is their newfound inability to defend. They were the 6th lowest scoring side in the Premier League last season with just 36 goals in 38 games, but that figure combined with their 7th place finish is a testament to just how good they were at the back. Only the top five clubs conceded fewer goals than them, but all of that organisation seems to have left them during the summer.
Now, three games in they have shipped seven Premier League goals, and in their last four competitive games they have conceded 11 times. Fortunately they have managed to increase their attacking output too, scoring five times in these four games.
Manchester United aren’t exactly riding the waves at the moment though. Discontent around Old Trafford seemed to grow over the summer, and even their opening day 2-1 win over Leicester didn’t do much to quash the doubts around the stands. These doubts turned out to be well founded as well, with The Red Devils shockingly losing 3-2 away to Brighton in gameweek two.
Things got even worse for them on Monday though. A 3-0 humiliation at home to Spurs was bad enough, but Jose Mourinho seemed to completely lose it in the press conference afterwards, to plunge Manchester United into a now-familiar disarray.
Just like Burnley, it’s the collapse of Manchester United’s defence that is the real surprise. They were the second best defensive side in the league last term and conceded just 28 goals in their 38 games, but just three games into the new campaign and they have picked the ball out of their own net seven times.
The result of both of these teams’ defensive collapses is that this could be a surprisingly entertaining match. Burnley’s three games so far have yielded ten goals, with two of them seeing at least three goals in total. Meanwhile, Manchester United have seen three or more goals in all of their league outings so far, so backing Over 2.5 Goals looks a great choice here. We’re also going for a 2-1 win for the visitors, just due to Burnley’s midweek fatigue and poor form putting them in a worse situation than Jose Mourinho’s men.
