Jose Mourinho endured a miserable return to Stamford Bridge last weekend as his Man Utd players were blown away by the side he used to manage. Meanwhile, Burnley were beating high-flying Everton 2-1 to climb up to the giddy heights of 14th. It sets up an intriguing clash between two teams that are worlds apart in terms of financial muscle but separated by a mere four points in the Premiership.
Mourinho cut a dejected figure in the dug out as Chelsea beat his team 4-0. It was the ultimate humiliation for a man that announced himself as the special one when he initially arrived at Chelsea, and then pretty much proved it by winning a heap of trophies with them Inter and Real Madrid. Chelsea sacked him for a second time last season with the team languishing just above the relegation zone – despite winning the title the previous campaign – and Mourinho’s special credentials were very much in jeopardy. He had the perfect platform from which to re-establish them this season, in charge of a Man Utd side bolstered by the world record signing of Paul Pogba. It started relatively well but the wheels have well and truly come off for Man Utd now. Fourteen points from nine games and a goal difference of +1 is not a good return for a team as expensively assembled as Man Utd. They have gone from second favourites to win the title to 26.00 outsiders behind Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham.
Man Urd haven’t won in three in the league, but two of those were away at top sides in Liverpool and Chelsea. More worrying was the home draw against Stoke. The game before that, however, saw them rout Leicester City 4-1. There is plenty of quality in their squad and they really should be beating Burnley. Mourinho just has to be ruthless, axe underperforming players and find the right balance in midfield. If he can settle on a starting 11 and take six points from the next two games against Burnley and Swansea he will be back on track.
Burnley are a tough nut to crack and have now beaten Everton and Liverpool this season. They held on until the last minute before losing to Arsenal and have the fighting spirit to beat the drop this time, as Sean Dyche seems to have learned lessons since they were relegated in 2014. But all of Burnley’s good performances have come at home. They have played away three times and lost all of them, conceding three goals each time and scoring just once. Their away form is atrocious and they would be the bottom of the league if only away results counted.
This is, therefore, the perfect match for Man Utd to get back up and running in the league. For that reason, they are huge favourites and just 1.22 is the best price you can get with Marathonbet, while Burnley are out at 19.00 to win it with William Hill and the draw is 7.00 with Paddy Power.
You can stick Man Utd in an accumulator, but as a straight bet 1.22 isn’t great value. You might instead be tempted by Man Utd winning to nil, which is 1.73 with Paddy Power. Burnley got a goal in their last away game, when they lost 3-1 to Southampton, but before that they lost 3-0 to Leicester and 3-0 to Chelsea. Another option is going for Man Utd and over 2.5 goals at 1.83 with Bet Stars as Burnley have a leaky defence on the road. Man Utd have a goals per game average of 2.8, while Burnley’s is 2.3, so it might be a risk, but you are on the cusp, and Man Utd are likely to play with more abandon in front of their home fans. Man Utd -1 is just 1.62 on the handicaps, making the win to nil look a better value option.
One option, presuming you think Man Utd will win, would be to put some money on Man Utd winning to nil at 1.73 with Paddy Power and then put a smaller stake on Man Utd winning and both teams to score at 3.75 with green listed bookmaker William Hill. That covers you both ways and is far better than the 1.22 on a straight Man Utd win.
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