English Premier
2025-08-30 - Manchester United vs Burnley
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 30th August 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Manchester United
Even if Manchester United had found a way to win the Penalty Shoot Out at Blundell Park, the performance would have left Ruben Amorim with big questions to answer. However, being dumped out of the League Cup in the Second Round has ramped up the pressure on the manager and he did sound pretty defeated in the post-match interview.
It has been a poor start to the season and Manchester United might already be in a 'must win' position on Saturday as they look for some momentum to take into the September international break. A single point in the Premier League and a very early exit in the League Cup has made this a miserable opening to the season, while it does not bear thinking about if Manchester United fail to win again on Saturday.
Manchester United have won 1 of their last 7 games in all competitions. The Premier League form at Old Trafford has been particularly troublesome under Ruben Amorim and Manchester United have lost 3 of their last 4 League games on this ground.
Altay Bayindir is almost certainly going to be restored in goal after Andre Onana's comical errors in the League Cup tie on Wednesday. Noussair Mazraoui is expected back after the international break, while the likes of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo are expected to be restored to the starting lineup.
Burnley
It felt important for Burnley to make a winning start at Turf Moor in the Premier League last weekend and Scott Parker will be pleased with his team. The fringe players showed they can be a real help for Burnley this season having beaten Derby County in the League Cup Second Round and the relatively short trip to Old Trafford may be coming at a good time.
The newly promoted club will arrive in South Manchester with more points on the board than Manchester United, although Burnley's single away game ended in a routine loss at Tottenham Hotspur. They did only lost 2 of 23 away League games in the Championship last season, but Burnley will understand that the Premier League is a different level completely.
Burnley have won consecutive matches this past week and they have now won 7 of their last 8 games in all competitions, although none of those have been against clubs that were playing in the Premier League last season. The side had been unbeaten in 6 away games to conclude the 2024/25 campaign, but Burnley's 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur is the only fixture played on their travels this month.
Connor Roberts and Jordan Beyer are hoping to be available after the September international break.
Head to Head
Two seasons ago, Manchester United did pick up four points in the Premier League matches against Burnley.
The fixture ended 1-1 at Old Trafford that season thanks to a late Burnley equaliser.
Manchester United had won 3 straight home fixtures against Burnley before that draw in April 2024.
Prediction
There really isn't much to say about Manchester United's performance at Grimsby Town in the League Cup and eventually losing on Penalties will have caused a real shock within the club.
Ruben Amorim's fury in the post-match interviews could not really be disguised, but there will have been plenty of people wondering whether the manager has lost belief in his own capabilities.
Talk about getting through this fixture and then reassessing had all of the implications that Amorim is feeling the pressure of the job and he needs a big result.
It won't matter how Manchester United earn that result, but it has come to the moment where a solid performance and failure to win this game will not be good enough.
Manchester United may be grateful for the opponent at Old Trafford, although this is a team that has struggled to find results against any opposition. Last season they did beat Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City at Old Trafford with the former two results under Ruben Amorim's guidance, and Manchester United have at least offered a real attacking threat in the first two League fixtures.
They will be encouraged by the Tottenham Hotspur win over Burnley on the opening weekend, but the doubts are raised by the overall feeling around the League Cup defeat on Wednesday.
Burnley picked up the first win back in the Premier League last weekend and followed up by beating Derby County in the League Cup. Momentum is with the team, but Scott Parker's tactics are very much based around a strong defensive foundation and Burnley have not yet shown a lot of threat going forward.
Set pieces could be key for them here, and Burnley did score late to earn a 1-1 draw in their last visit to Old Trafford.
There were moments against Tottenham Hotspur where Burnley also got into decent positions and they may be looking to frustrate the hosts in this one.
Containing Manchester United will still be a challenge, although the home team will have to show they believe in the manager more than Ruben Amorim felt they did on Wednesday evening.
If that faith in the manager has been erased, it could be a tough day in the office for Manchester United, but the feeling remains that the team are still fighting for him. The chances that Manchester United have created in the first two League games are encouraging and Bryan Mbeumo got off the mark against Grimsby Town.
His Penalty miss proved decisive and Matheus Cunha also missed in the Shoot Out, but both players have made encouraging starts and Manchester United may find a way to win this game.
It does feel incredibly difficult to trust Manchester United after what was shown at Blundell Park, but they should still have enough quality and character to want to prove to the Old Trafford crowd that they want to represent this shirt.
Anything less than a victory and you would question whether Ruben Amorim will even be in charge when the Manchester derby comes around.
With that in mind, the feeling is that Manchester United will find a way to beat this newly promoted club and one that was pretty well beaten at Tottenham Hotspur. This one is unlikely to be that comfortable considering the tension around the home team, but Manchester United can find a way to the three points to calm things down through the September international break.
High-scoring games were played out against Southampton and Ipswich Town last season, but everything is pointing to a tighter, more competitive result in this one.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 2-0 Burnley
