United kick-off early for the second Saturday running as they host Burnley who are sitting pretty at the top of the table.
Heckingbottom’s men have had a recent improvement in form winning back-to-back games which have seen them jump to 3rd.
Burnley have won four in a row after coming from 2-1 down against Rotherham to beat them 3-2 on Wednesday evening in the 101st minute. They are 6pts above the Blades, but United have a game-in-hand.
This is how I think Burnley will line up on Saturday:
Vincent Kompany will be without Josh Brownhill, due to suspension. He has been one of the best players in the league this season from midfield scoring five goals and making four assists.
There’s no getting around it, Burnley has the most technical system in the league. The build-up and progression play relies heavily on rotations and advanced tactical positioning, however, they do give the opposition a chance to steal the ball often if their press is immaculate.
The Clarets average 64% possession per game which is the highest in the division. They achieve this by playing over 440 short passes per game – completely overshadowing United’s short passing figures of slightly over 280 short passes per game. It’s pretty obvious United won’t have the majority of the ball.
It is not just possession for possession’s sake – Burnley averages 168 touches in the final third per game, the 3rd most in the league behind the Blades in second. They average 20 touches inside the opposition penalty area which is only the 7th best in the league.
Kompany’s team averages 22 shot-creating actions per game which are the 5th highest in the league. United lead that statistic with 25.
Burnley’s defence has commited 5 errors in defence which lead to an opponent’s shooting opportunity which is the 3rd highest in the Championship.
The Clarets sit at the top of the league and with good reason – they have created the 3rd highest xG in the league, coupled with the 5th lowest xGA. The Infogol model has Burnley in 1st place, so their results match their performances.
For United to get anything out of this game they will have to improve in every department from Tuesday night. United had a 0% efficiency from positional attacks, and they only had a 27% efficiency from their press. Anything similar to those numbers against Burnley and it could be a tragic scoreline.
However, I have faith that United will improve, and I think they will try to bully Burnley from the off.