Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will be looking to take in their great form and confidence on Tuesday night, in a bid to trouble Liverpool on Sunday. The Red Devils have the opportunity to sit top of the table ahead of their mouth-watering trip to Merseyside against the current Premier League champions.

Burnley are the hosts on Tuesday evening, and are on a decent run of form themselves. The East Lancashire outfit have won three of their last four games. A vital win against Wolves at Turf Moor, late December was the start of their revival, with wins over Sheffield United at home and a recent victory in the FA Cup third round against Milton Keynes Dons on penalties, following for the Claret faithful.

Sean Dyche is hopeful all his players will be back from isolation in time for the match after various players either tested positive or were having to isolate. The Clarets didn’t have many players to call upon in their Saturday FA Cup victory over Milton Keynes Dons. Sean Dyche was without key men such as Ashley Westwood in the heart of midfield. Despite their inconsistent form all season, Sean Dyche’s men will want to stay clear of the drop zone. But they face a Manchester United team who have been very successful on the road.

  • Team News

United will rotate their troops after the FA Cup third round clash against Watford at Old Trafford on Saturday. Solskjaer will look to name a strong team after his reshaped line-up on the weekend. But the United manager will have the Liverpool clash on the horizon to deal with, ahead of selection for the away trip to Burnley.

Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw are likely to be called upon, with Paul Pogba and Eric Bailly also in contention as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans. Late fitness tests are expected to take place for the two players, but Solskjaer will decide late on whether they will feature, the game maybe coming too soon, due to the implications of Covid-19 on fixture congestion.  

Edinson Cavani will most definitely make his return after completing his three-game suspension. The striker has been a breath of fresh air since joining the club and will be looking to get on the scoresheet ahead of the massive game on Sunday against Liverpool.

For Burnley Nick Pope will return after turning his ankle in training on Friday. Charlie Taylor, Dwight McNeil, Kevin Long and Jay Rodriguez are all possibilities.  

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Burnley have come alive since being sunk 5-0 by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City back in November, at the Etihad. Having only lost one of their last six top flight games, they recorded a good point against Everton at home and a surprising victory at the Emirates, regalvanising the fight amongst the squad.

This good run of form was taken into Wolves and Sheffield United. The Clarets currently sit 16th in the Premier League 5 points above the relegation zone and have scored just 9 league goals this season, only bottom side Sheffield United have scored fewer. Chris Wood is the only Burnley player to have scored more than once this season with 3 goals to his name. Their home run has been something to smile about, not losing at Turf Moor since the end of October, when Chelsea won comfortably 3-0.

United on the other hand have been very impressive, unbeaten since 1st November. Manchester City and Leicester City are the only teams to have taken points from the title contenders. The away form of the Red Devils has also been as dominant, with 6 wins from the last 7 competitive games. The Red Devils have scored 21 goals away from home, more than any other Premier League team. But are yet to keep a clean sheet on their travels.

  • Previous Meetings

United have only lost once at Turf Moor. A 1-0 win back in 2009 was the difference, with Robbie Blake coming up trumps for the hosts. Burnley have not won consecutive league games against the Red Devils since September 1968. Man United have won each of their last four visits, scoring 7 times in total and not conceding a goal on each occassion.

Burnley have only scored one goal in their six premier league home games against Man United, compared to seven in six away games in the competition.

Anthony Martial has a good record against the Clarets, with 3 goals in his last 4 appearances at Burnley. The relegation threatened side on the other hand, have a good record at Old Trafford picking up 6 points in total over 4 visits since 2015, but don't hold a good CV at home against Man United.

The last time these two sides battled eachother’s witts at Turf Moor, the fixture finished 2-0 to United. Martial got the first after some good work from Andreas Pereira, with Marcus Rashford following up in the dying moments of the game to comfortably take the points. David De Gea was remarkable on the night with his gloves coming up with various neat saves.

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  • Players to watch 

Edinson Cavani will return looking to continue his good goalscoring run of form. Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford have plenty of quality in their ranks to trouble the Clarets as a trio, bringing assists and goals in abundance. Mason Greenwood and Donny Van De Beek will be used as impact players if they aren’t in the starting line-up.     

Ben Mee and James Tarkowski have been Burnley’s stand out players in defence but will have their work cut out on Tuesday evening against a quality United attack. Nick Pope is part of the England set up having performed consistently at the highest level for some time. Only Emiliano Martinez for Aston Villa, Ederson for Manchester City and Alex McCarthy for Southampton have more clean sheets so far this campaign. Up top Ashley Barnes is a threat on his day, with his physical aggression.  

The clash kicks off at 20.15 (GMT) and will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports in the UK.

  • What the managers have said

Sean Dyche spoke to club media. When asked about the impact testing is having on the selection of the squad. He said “They’ve been double tested again and the timescale fits in. We’ve followed all the protocols so hopefully people will be available.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faced the media, and was asked about Burnley as a team. “They have had some good results, Burnley, after a difficult start. Its hard to score against them, they don’t concede many chances, they are always difficult to play against. When you go there, you know what you’re up against.”

Speaking on United's form. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went on to say “Well we are better off this season compared to the same time last year. We’ve won more games, we’ve scored more goals, we’ve played better football. That’s a positive. For us its just about developing this team and improving. I think we’ve shown again that we can bounce back after a disappointment. I thought the lads who played in the FA Cup game showed good character, and good attitude and quality.”

On the victory against Watford. When asked about the result. He said “We have good momentum, have started well again after the disappointment of city. We bounced back really well with a win and of course we want to build momentum again. If we can get a win on Tuesday then when you win two games on the bounce you go into the next game confident. Every game in the Premier League is a chance to build more confidence.”