Preview: Burnley vs Manchester United - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester United's post-Ruben Amorim era will officially begin on Wednesday, when the Red Devils make the trip to Turf Moor to tackle relegation-threatened Burnley.

Amorim was sacked as head coach on Monday, with Darren Fletcher placed in charge on an interim basis, and the former Man United midfielder will lead the team in gameweek 21.

Match preview

Burnley will enter Wednesday's match off the back of a 2-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion, with that result stretching their winless run in England's top flight to 11 matches.

Scott Parker's side won back-to-back games against Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of October but have not been victorious since, losing nine of their last 11 in the top flight, which is obviously relegation form.

The Clarets have only managed to pick up 12 points from their 20 matches, which has left them down in 19th spot in the Premier League table, six points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, who will tackle 18th-placed West Ham United on Tuesday night.

Burnley triumphed in their first-ever Premier League home game against Man United in August 2009, but they are winless in their last eight against the Red Devils at Turf Moor, suffering six defeats in the process and scoring just once.

Earlier this season, Burnley suffered a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford in the reverse Premier League fixture, with Bruno Fernandes, who could return from injury in this match, scoring a 97th-minute penalty to secure all three points for the Red Devils.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

It was never going to end well when Amorim openly criticised the powers-that-be at Man United following Sunday's 1-1 draw with Leeds United, although it did still come as somewhat of a surprise that the Portuguese lost his job on Monday morning.

Amorim has left the Red Devils sixth in the Premier League table, level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea and only three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool - a top-four spot is very much on this season, but there are some very tough matches to come.

Fletcher will lead Man United into Wednesday's game at Burnley and is also set to be in charge against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup this weekend, but it remains to be seen whether a caretaker manager is appointed before the Premier League double-header against Manchester City and Arsenal towards the end of the month.

A permanent replacement for Amorim might not arrive until this summer, but whoever is in charge in the coming months has a very important job to do, with the club looking to secure a return to Europe for the 2026-27 campaign.

Fletcher's audition for the job begins at Turf Moor, and supporters will be feeling hopeful considering that a change of formation is almost certainly coming this week.

Burnley Premier League form:

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Man United Premier League form:

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Team News

Burnley are one of the worst-hit teams at this moment in time in terms of absentees.

Josh Cullen (knee), Zeki Amdouni (knee), Connor Roberts (calf), Axel Tuanzebe (AFCON), Hannibal Mejbri (AFCON), Lyle Foster (AFCON), Joe Worrall (muscle), Zian Flemming (muscle) and Jordan Beyer (hamstring) have all been ruled out.

However, the Clarets are hopeful that Maxime Esteve will be able to return, with the 23-year-old absent against Brighton last time out through injury.

Jaidon Anthony has scored four times during the 2025-26 campaign, and the home team will again be looking to the attacker for inspiration here.

As for Man United, Fletcher has revealed that Fernandes and Mason Mount are both in line to return to the squad after recovering from injury problems, and there could be an immediate return to the starting lineup for the club captain.

Bryan Mbeumo (AFCON), Amad Diallo (AFCON) and Noussair Mazraoui (AFCON) are still absent, while Kobbie Mainoo (calf) Matthijs de Ligt (back) and Harry Maguire (thigh) are expected to miss out due to injury problems.

Fletcher is set to select a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Patrick Dorgu potentially operating down the right, while there should also be starts for Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko in attack.

Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte have been relatively solid as a midfield duo of late, and the lack of options in that area could mean that the pair continue, while Ayden Heaven and Lisandro Martinez may feature as the centre-back duo.

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Walker, Ekdal, Esteve, Pires; Ugochukwu, Florentino, Laurent; Edwards, Broja, Anthony

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

Lammens; Dalot, Heaven, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Ugarte; Dorgu, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

We say: Burnley 1-3 Manchester United

Man United do not often keep clean sheets - just two in the Premier League this season, but Burnley's form is incredibly poor, and we fancy Fletcher to get off to a winning start as interim head coach.

Anything less for Man United would be a huge disappointment.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.