manutd1819Manchester United host Burnley in the English Premier League on Thursday and we have goals markets and goalscorer betting tips courtesy of @Olimp_SA

 

 

 

Manchester United vs. Burnley, EPL Round 20, 30 December 22:15

 

After more than two weeks without football the Red Devils were finally able to return to action on Monday night against Newcastle. Unfortunately Rangnick’s men were unable to avoid the Covid blues and were forced to postpone their Round 17 and Round 18 clashes just before Christmas. The lack of football this month appears to have had a negative impact on the team’s performance and this was quite evident when they left St. James’ Park with just one point. It was definitely a disappointing showing from United and considering they faced one of the worst teams in the league they really should have picked up maximum points. As we move into the second half of the season every point matters in the battle for Europe next season and hopefully it won’t end up biting them in the backside.

 

Right now United find themselves in seventh spot on the table with 28 points with two games in hand, but a victory against the Magpies could have seen them sitting in sixth place right now and boosting their chances at ending the year in the Top 5. Rangnick has now stretched United’s unbeaten run to three matches since he has taken charge, but with his side scoring just one goal in each of these matches there is still a lot of work to be done. The German has had the privilege of finding his feet at the club in fixtures against weaker opposition, but he is going to need to conjure up much more convincing performances from his side to ensure they are ready for the clashes with the big names.

 

Burnley’s matches with Watford, Aston Villa and Everton were all postponed in recent weeks and as a result the Clarets have not taken the field in almost 20 days. They were last in action on the 12th of this month at Turf Moor where they managed to hold West Ham to a goalless draw. Although this was definitely a positive result for Sean Dyche’s men it’s been a terrible season for his side so far who have a record of one win, eight draws and six losses.

 

Their defense has not been too shabby with just 21 goals let in, but the big problem has been their attack that has only managed to score 14 goals the entire season. They did manage to put three goals past Crystal Palace at the end of November, but since then they have failed to score in any of their last three EPL fixtures. Unless they can start to consistently find the net their decent defensive performances will not count for anything and they will most likely struggle to crawl out of the relegation zone where they currently sit with 11 points. The fact that the Clarets have been out of action will certainly not help their already rusty attack and I expect that this will be an Old Trafford trip to forget for them.

 

Manchester United leads the EPL head-to-head between the sides with three wins. Burnley have managed one win, while the other clash ended in a draw. The last time the teams met was in April this year at Old Trafford where the hosts comfortably won 3-1 which featured a double from Mason Greenwood. The Clarets did manage to pull off a victory at Old Trafford back in January 2020, their only ever EPL win at the venue. Seven out of the last ten matches have seen less than 2.5 goals, while only one team has scored in seven out of the last ten matches as well.

 

 

Prediction

 

Despite a sub-par performance against Newcastle on Monday Manchester United are still the far better team going into this clash. Their attack might still be finding their feet under Rangnick but I expect them to slowly continue their growth under the German’s leadership and bag a straight-forward win. I don’t think we are going to see a completely dominant performance from United simply because Burnley have proven to be tricky on defense at times. The Red Devils are also still adjusting to Ragnick’s style of play and I reckon that a narrow win by 1 or 2 goals is a more likely result here. Burnley have not scored in their last three matches and I don’t see this trend ending on Thursday.

 

I believe backing only one team to score in the match along with Manchester United to win is the way to go. I also like under 2.5 goals which is available at over even money which I reckon is great value. We are yet to see a huge win by the Red Devils under Ragnick and considering the Clarets are having trouble finding the net as well it feels like the right play to me. Manchester United have had a variety of goalscorers as of late which makes it hard to predict one for this match, but I will have a crack at Mason Greenwood to score in the match since he scored a double at Old Trafford against the Clarets in April.

 

BetOlimp Best Bets

 

Victory and Both to Score: no and Manchester United – 2.09
Total Goals: Total 2.5 under – 2.28
Anytime Goalscorer: Mason Greenwood – 2.36

 

Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

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