A Manchester City legend will aim to prolong the Manchester United misery on Saturday night, as Vincent Kompany's Burnley welcome the Red Devils to Turf Moor in the Premier League.
The hosts took a point home from a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest last time out, while Erik ten Hag's men suffered a 4-3 loss to Bayern Munich in a Champions League extravaganza.
Match preview
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Burnley striker Lyle Foster cannot consign Monday's stopover at the City Ground to history quickly enough, as after having a late strike disallowed for a contentious handball, the 23-year-old was given a straight red card for elbowing Ryan Yates seconds before the full-time whistle blew.
Prior to Foster's nightmare moments, Burnley had drawn first blood against Forest thanks to a sweetly-struck Zeki Amdouni effort, but Tricky Trees new boy Callum Hudson-Odoi bettered the Clarets attacker's opener with a sublime curling effort to rescue a point for the hosts.
In doing so, Steve Cooper's men earned a small slice of revenge for their EFL Cup loss to Burnley in the second round, where Amdouni once again made the net ripple at the City Ground, and that 1-0 success still represents the Clarets' only victory of the 2023-24 season so far.
Monday's stalemate did at least see Burnley put their first Premier League point on the board at the fourth attempt, having previously been thumped by Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur in a trio of home matches, and they have climbed off the foot of the table for the time being.
Only a pointless Luton Town side have performed worse in the top flight than Kompany's troops, though, and Burnley have now suffered defeat in their last five Premier League home games since April 2022, conceding at least two goals on each occasion.
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A host of unwanted records were either matched or broken for Man United on Wednesday evening, as one of the Premier League's current crisis clubs tried in vain to restore a sense of pride away to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, despite scoring three goals at the Allianz Arena.
Casemiro's brace and Rasmus Hojlund's first goal for the club offered the Red Devils some hope of a magnificent turnaround, but Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and former transfer target Harry Kane had already breached Erik ten Hag's backline before Casemiro notched his first for the evening.
The Brazilian responded again after Mathys Tel added number four for Bayern, but the final whistle blew almost immediately after he nodded in Bruno Fernandes's free kick, as a disjointed and ravaged Man United side fell to their third successive defeat following a duo of 3-1 beatings at the hands of Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion.
As concerns off the field continue to rear their ugly heads, Man United's on-field endeavours are also leaving a lot to be desired, and Ten Hag - who is allegedly at risk of losing the dressing room - implored his players to "look in the mirror" after producing another defensive disasterclass in Munich.
The Red Devils head into Saturday's game as one of four Premier League teams without a point on the road so far this season - suffering defeat in four of their last five top-flight games on the road - but a five-game unbeaten run against Saturday's hosts may provide a small sense of reassurance for the travelling faithful.
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Team News
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On account of his straight red card versus Nottingham Forest, Burnley striker Foster - who had set up Amdouni's first-half strike - will begin a three-match domestic ban that will also rule him out of clashes with Salford City and Newcastle United.
Kompany is also guaranteed to be without Michael Obafemi (hamstring), Hjalmar Ekdal (knee) and Darko Churlinov (blood poisoning) for the clash with the Red Devils, while Vitinho's own knee concern will need assessing over the next couple of days too, but Jordan Beyer should be fine after a bout of cramp.
With Foster taking his place on the naughty step, Jay Rodriguez would be a like-for-like swap up front, but all of Aaron Ramsey, Mike Tresor, Anass Zaroury and Benson Manuel should also battle it out to start in the final third.
Man United boss Ten Hag could not take many positives away from Wednesday's Bavarian beating, but at the very least, the Red Devils left with no further injury concerns to add to their list of 11 absentees from the trip to Munich.
Raphael Varane and Mason Mount were both seen in team training earlier this week, but Sofyan Amrabat and Kobbie Mainoo were only taking part in individual sessions, while Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (thigh), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Amad Diallo (knee) remain out of contention alongside wingers Antony and Jadon Sancho amid their personal problems.
Harry Maguire was also unavailable for the trip to Munich owing to a small muscular problem, but the Englishman is now back in team training alongside Amrabat, Mount and Varane, all of whom could return to alleviate the Red Devils' selection crisis.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Roberts, Al-Dakhil, O'Shea, Taylor; Cullen, Brownhill; Zaroury, Ramsey, Koleosho; Amdouni
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Reguilon; Casemiro, McTominay; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
We say: Burnley 1-2 Manchester United
Burnley could arguably not be playing Man United at a better time on account of the Red Devils' multiple crises, as injuries, defensive deficiencies and off-the-pitch scandals threaten to derail Ten Hag's preparations once again.
The leaky Red Devils backline should not emerge unscathed, but on the other hand, Burnley have also been conceding goals at will on home soil, and Man United's potent attacking forces can fight fire with fire to redeem themselves with a hard-fought away win.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
