Overview
About a week ago, perhaps many people could still expect Manchester United to win against Burnley. But after the information that Ruben Amorim was sacked - closing 14 turbulent months on the hot seat at Old Trafford - was announced, any scenario could happen.
Will the players be united to "play for their colors" and show their true ability? Is it Amorim who has restrained them? And can interim coach Darren Fletcher create an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer-style boost?
The reign of the Norwegian coach has opened with 8 consecutive victories in all competitions, so Man United fans will certainly not object if another former player creates a similar effect.
With Fletcher, almost certainly the number one priority is to strengthen the defense, especially in away trips. Under Amorim, Man United only kept a clean sheet in 2/24 away matches in the Premier League - equivalent to 8%. In the group of coaches who have coached more than 20 away matches in the league, only Rob Edwards (0%), Owen Coyle (3%) and Steve Kean (7%) have a lower clean sheet rate.
The series of 15 consecutive away matches without clean sheets of the "Red Devils" against the upcoming home team is also the longest since the 17-match streak ended in April 1978.
Injury is part of the reason for the seriousness of the problem. The absence of Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire forced Amorim to use the relatively inexperienced central defender pair Ayden Heaven and Leny Yoro. However, both are likely to still be present in this match, alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount.
Man United's defensive problems may be less "revealed" at Turf Moor, because Burnley has recently been quite poor at finishing. They only scored 5 shots in the most recent match against Brighton. That was the sixth time this season they had less than 6 shots in a Premier League match - at least twice more than any other team.
In addition, Man United also only lost 2/36 of their recent Premier League matches against teams in the relegation zone (23 wins). However, weaknesses are still evident even in matches considered easy. under Amorim, Man United only kept a clean sheet once in 9 matches against teams ranked from 18th or below.
Fletcher's significant support at this time is Matheus Cunha, who is in positive form with 3 goals in the last 5 matches in the national championship. The Brazilian striker has also directly participated in 9 goals (5 goals, 4 assists) in 8 recent encounters with promoted rookies in the tournament.
On the opposite side, Burnley has not even had time to worry about how to "lock" Cunha has faced a serious personnel problem. Scott Parker is at risk of missing up to 10 players for this match.
Number one striker Zian Flemming is unlikely to be able to play. Josh Cullen - one of the two rare Burnley players with more than one assist in the Premier League this season - has just suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. If Maxime Esteve returns in time as initially signaled, it will at least be good news for the defense.
Burnley needs all possible support, as alarming numbers continue to pile up. They have not won their last 11 Premier League matches (9 losses). In club history, they have only gone through a longer winning streak four times in a season, most recently in the period from November 2009 to January 2010 (12 matches).
Head-to-head record
Burnley once had a historic moment in August 2009, when they won their first home win against Man United in the Premier League era with a score of 1-0.
However, since that milestone, the home team at Turf Moor has not been able to repeat the joy. In the last eight encounters with the "Red Devils", Burnley has not won any match (6 defeats) and has only scored one goal.
As a result, out of a total of 14 goals Burnley scored against Man United in the Premier League, only 2 goals were scored at home - equivalent to 14%. This is the lowest rate among teams that have scored 10 goals or more against a specific opponent in this tournament.
Score prediction: Burnley 0-1 Man United
The match between Burnley and Man United takes place at 3:15 AM on January 8 (Vietnam time).
