Manchester United v Burnley: Value with goals at Old Trafford

Mark O'Haire expects the goals to flow as Manchester United aim to bounce back from their derby defeat when facing Burnley at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Manchester United v Burnley
Wednesday January 22, 20:15
Live on BT Sport

Manchester United suffer derby defeat

Manchester United remain five points adrift of Champions League qualification following a hard-fought 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday. The Red Devils were second-best for the majority of the match but did put the runaway Premier League leaders under late pressure as they looked to pinch a point before leaking the decisive second goal on the counter.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were fortunate to only be a goal down with a contentious VAR decision denying Liverpool, as well as David de Gea pushing a shot onto the post, and Mo Salah missing an open goal from six yards. However, United squandered opportunities of their own either side of the interval through Andreas Pereira and Anthony Martial.

Martial's wild finish was symptomatic of his laboured and lacklustre performance. United were counting on him in Marcus Rashford's absence but he simply failed to deliver. Rashford joins Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba on the treatment table, limiting Solskjaer's options, but Juan Mata, Mason Greenwood and Jesse Lingard will hope for recalls here.

Burnley enjoy overdue win

Sean Dyche said Burnley reacted positively to questions about their form with victory against Leicester which earned them their first points in five games. Ashley Westwood's stunning strike in the 79th minute and goalkeeper Nick Pope's penalty save from Jamie Vardy marked a brilliant recovery by Clarets who went behind to a 33rd-minute opener.

Dyche's motivational abilities were tested at Turf Moor as he faced five successive league losses as Burnley boss for the first time. But the hosts improved after the break and equalised when Chris Wood poked in his ninth league goal of the season. And after Pope's penalty save, Burnley surged forward and were rewarded 11 minutes from time by Westwood.

Victory lifts Burnley to 14th - five points above the relegation zone - and Dyche was full of praise for his players post-match, saying: "We had some question marks around us recently, which is kind of a backhanded compliment. There was a big sign of moving forward with that performance."

The Clarets are without striker Ashley Barnes for the foreseeable.

Red Devils to make fast start

Manchester United have suffered a solitary defeat across all competitions against Burnley since 1968, although the Red Devils do boast a curious recent record against the Clarets. United have registered maximum points in each of their past four trips to Turf Moor, however, the hosts have played out three successive draws with Burnley at Old Trafford.

Manchester United 1.43 have W6-D4-L1 at Old Trafford this term, enjoying a 24-10 aggregate advantage - 14 of that 24-goal tally came in five fixtures against bottom-half dwellers. Meanwhile, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's troops have been ahead at half-time in seven of their overall 12 tussles here, including all three triumphs against the league's lesser lights.

Burnley 9.80 picked up a vital victory on Sunday. The Clarets came into their contest with Leicester having lost 10 of 14 fixtures since October's international break, conceding at least twice in nine of 10 defeats. Sean Dyche's outfit have now W1-D1-L10 when taking on the top-half, while managing just W1-D2-L16 against Big Six teams since the start of last season.

Despite taking top honours against Leicester, Burnley failed to notch a first-half goal for the 11th successive Premier League encounter, the longest run by any team in the competition since 2015. Such slow starts could prove costly at Old Trafford and taking United to be leading at half-time and full-time appeals at 2.10 quotes this Wednesday night.

Goals anticipated at Old Trafford

Four of five Premier League match-ups between Man Utd and Burnley at Old Trafford have delivered Over 2.5 Goals 1.85 and the stats suggest the midweek meeting could follow suit. The Red Devils have crossed the Over 2.5 Goals barrier in 7/11 (64%) home games this term, with Burnley seeing 7/11 (64%) away days also feature at least three goals.

Fifteen of the Clarets' 19 clashes with Big Six clubs dating back to the beginning of 2018/19 have also produced Over 2.5 Goals profit, suggesting there's value in backing a high-scoring showdown here.