Louis van Gaal had nothing but praise for new signing Angel Di Maria as he confirmed the Argentine will play at Turf Moor on Saturday lunchtime as Manchester United look to secure their first win of the season – and their first under Louis van Gaal.
Burnley have pleasant memories of winning the corresponding fixture the last time they were in the Premier League, but a Manchester United side with Angel Di Maria in their ranks could be a real mountain to climb for the hosts.
Van Gaal said: “He has impressed me.
“The first training session was with all the boys and he was very impressive…. He has a lot of hunger to play because he wants to support Manchester United. He said it in the press conference. He is a very modest guy. He wants to work for the team so I am very curious about his first appearance.”
Manchester United are still in the market for a central defender and a defensive midfielder, but Van Gaal insists it will take time for the team to get accustomed to his methods. The Dutch coach insisted that the players who didn’t get an opportunity on the US Tour got a chance to prove themselves on Tuesday against MK Dons, but an embarrassing 4-0 defeat may have slightly dented the ego of the man seemingly unfazed by the magnitude of the repair job at hand.
The humbling cup exit at the hands of MK Dons followed closely on the back of the opening day defeat at the hands of Swansea City and a draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light is not what you would expect from the man who has managed the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
On the other hand, much like United, Burnley were ousted from the league cup in midweek after a 1-0 defeat to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. But Sean Dyche’s side needn’t look too far from inspiration as the last time United traveled to Turf Moor, Owen Coyle’s side had humbled the defending champions, thanks to a Robbie Blake strike. They have had a tough start to the campaign, with two defeats in as many matches to begin their life at top flight football, but Burnley can take positives from both their games as they did not give up easily and infact scored the first goal against the league heavy weights Chelsea.
It will be a tricky fixture indeed as United are prone to leak silly goals and Burnley have the capability and players to sneak in a surprise goal or two. If Burnley can manage to score a goal in the opening half of the game, then they can drop deep and frustrate the visitors.
Opta match stats
- Burnley’s only previous Barclays Premier League home game against Manchester United saw them win 1-0 thanks to a goal from Robbie Blake.
- Manchester United have won five of their last six encounters with Burnley, keeping a clean sheet in each victory.
- Manchester United have won only two of their last six Premier League games in August (D2 L2).
- United have the lowest cross completion rate in the Premier League so far this season (5% – excl. corners).
- Angel Di Maria has assisted 11 goals in his last 11 league appearances.
- Robin van Persie has failed to hit any sort of shot in each of his last two Premier League appearances – the first time that this has happening in his Man Utd career.
- Burnley have played Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea and now Manchester Utd in their last five Premier League games at Turf Moor.
- Burnley have kept only three clean sheets in 40 Premier League games but one of them came at home to Manchester United in August 2009.
- The Clarets are one of two teams (along with Barnsley) never to draw a Premier League game 0-0.
- Of the seven ever-present teams in the Premier League, Manchester United have played in the lowest proportion of 0-0 draws (5.5%).
Stats compiled from au.eurosport.com
Predicted Lineups:
Burnley (4-4-2): Heaton; Trippier, Duff, Shackell, Mee; Arfield, Marney, Jones, Taylor; Ings, Jutkiewicz.
Manchester United (3-4-1-2): De Gea; Blackett, Jones, Evans; Valencia, Fletcher, Januzaj, Di María; Mata; Rooney, Van Persie.
Prediction:
United should be boosted by the arrival of Angel Di Maria and Louis van Gaal would be hoping for an impressive performance, and of course, all 3 points. Burnley are likely to cause United one or two problems defensively, but United should have enough in the tank to get their first win of the season. 3-1 to Rooney and co.