(Football news) Manchester United will welcome Burnley to Old Trafford on Friday, 1:45 am IST and will look to get back to winning ways after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Newcastle United. Ralf Rangnick’s team went to St. James’ Park, looking for a fourth consecutive victory but were fortunate to get a point thanks to Edinson Cavani’s goal and have seven points from three matches since the German took the reins at the club. The Red Devils are seventh in the Premier League, seven points behind fourth place Arsenal but have played two games less and will face Burnley with some degree of optimism, having defeated them in their last two encounters.

Burnley have not played a competitive fixture since December 12 as their games against Watford, Aston Villa and Everton were postponed due to COVID-19. Currently in 18th place, the Clarets have four games in hand against 19th and 20th place Newcastle and Norwich City and are only two points behind 17th place Watford despite having played two games fewer. Burnley have a notoriously poor record this season, winning just one out of their 15 games but are also difficult to break down, losing on only six occasions, the same as Arsenal and West Ham and just one more than Manchester United. Burnley have defeated the Red Devils only once at Old Trafford but the hosts will be looking to make amends from their match against Newcastle and keep their top 4 hopes alive by securing three points.

Ralf Rangnick will be without the services of Paul Pogba due to a thigh problem while Victor Lindelof will be unavailable after testing positive for COVID-19. Bruno Fernandes will also be unavailable for selection due to suspension, having received his fifth yellow card against Newcastle which paves the way for Donny Van De Beek in the starting XI. Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood could be dropped in favor of Edinson Cavani and Jadon Sancho who impressed after coming off the bench against the Magpies while Nemanja Matic and Luke Shaw are also available for selection.

For Burnley, Sean Dyche will not be able to select Ashley Barnes and Connor Roberts but  Maxwel Cornet has recovered from injury and is expected to partner alongside Chris Wood. Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Dwight McNeil are expected to play in the wide positions while  Jack Cork and Josh Brownhill will partner Ashley Westwood in midfield. However, anything less than three points for Manchester United will be considered a major upset in this fixture.

Also read: Man City go eight points clear while Chelsea were held by Brighton