What should be a routine game against Burnley later today has become a vital match for Manchester United. Their horrific run finally came to an end with a midweek win against Manchester City, but they desperately need a win tomorrow to get some momentum going. Anything less than three points will see the Red Devils returned straight to the spiral of bad results they’ve just got out of.
Burnley are no soft targets either. In their last game they surprised everyone by beating Ronald Koeman’s in form Everton side. There’s no reason they can’t do the same to a Manchester United team which haven’t shown anywhere near the levels of grit and organisation of the Toffees in the last two months.
Above all, Jose Mourinho will need Zlatan Ibrahimovic to perform against Burnley’s robust backline. After a quiet patch the Swedish striker grabbed the assist for Juan Mata’s goal in midweek, and his manager will hope he’s coming back into form. Ibra has long been derided as a flat-track bully – and that’s exactly what Manchester United need him to be tomorrow.