Manchester United will entertain Burnley on Boxing Day at Old Trafford and Jose Mourinho will hope that his team can bounce back against the Clarets after their disappointing 2-2 draw at Leicester City on Friday night. The Red Devils dropped two points at the King Power Stadium which has seen them fall 13 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City. It would be a tough ask for Mourinho’s men to come back from this position but it’s not an impossible one. They are in dire need to pick up a victory at home to Sean Dyche’s Burnley who are flying high in the league. However, the Clarets were demolished by a Harry Kane hattrick last time around in their loss at Turf Moor to Tottenham Hotspur.
The recent history of the fixture doesn’t make a good reading for the Lancashire club as they have not tasted victory in their previous five encounters with the men from Manchester, losing three and drawing two of those matches. Mourinho is expected to opt for his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation and may bring back Marcus Rashford into the starting eleven to try and freshen up the United attack.
4-2-3-1 Manchester United Predicted Lineup To Face Burnley
Defence
David De Gea will once again line up in goal for the Red Devils and might be protected by a backline of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones in central defence while Ashley Young takes his place at left-back and Victor Lindelöf has to fill in as a makeshift right-back.
Manchester United can boast the second best defensive record in the Premier League and their manager will be hoping that his back four can keep another clean sheet on Boxing Day versus Burnley.
Midfield
Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba are expected to anchor the United midfield while Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata will be deployed on the flanks. Jesse Lingard may take an attacking midfield role and play on the shoulders of Romelu Lukaku.
With the exception of Juan Mata, every Manchester United attacker struggled to finish off chances in their disappointing stalemate at Leicester so this game could be an ideal platform for them to return to form and get back to scoring goals.
Attack
Romelu Lukaku will once again lead the lines for Jose Mourinho’s team and will be desperate to get his name on the scoresheet when he laces up at Old Trafford to face the Clarets. He was unlucky not to score for his side in his last outing but put up an impressive display at Leicester nonetheless.
