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4-2-3-1: Man Utd predicted XI to face Burnley

Manchester United face Burnley at Turf Moore on Saturday hoping to make it four wins from four to start the New Year.

Jose Mourinho’s side have put in three convincing performances so far in 2018, in beating Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park, Derby County 2-0 in the FA Cup and Stoke City 3-0 last weekend.

Opponents Burnley are winless in their last seven and have lost their last three.  However, their fixtures haven’t been kind – they’ve faced Manchester City, us, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur during this run.

Here’s the team I expect Jose Mourinho to send out on Saturday:

Goalkeeper: David de Gea

The Spaniard is currently leading the way in the Golden Glove race having keep three clean sheets in his last three Premier League outings.

Defence: Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw

Captain Antonio Valencia returned to the first team last weekend and is fully fit to continue at right-back.  Ashley Young is available again after suspension but I think the boss will stick with Luke Shaw as the youngster appears to have won the left-back battle for the time being.  Chris Smalling faces competition to partner Phil Jones at centre-back but I think Jose will stick with the English duo again after keeping the Stoke attack quiet last time out.

Midfield: Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic; Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial

Paul Pogba ran the show versus Stoke on Monday and the French star will start alongside Nemanja Matic in front of the back four in this one to do the same again.  This is a game we should dominate possession and territory so you can expect Pogba to see the ball the most.  In attack I think Juan Mata will keep his place in the starting lineup as we might need someone with his passing ability to unlock the Burnley defence that has been excellent this season.  Jesse Lingard is the best option at number 10 currently whilst Anthony Martial’s goal versus Stoke means he could keep his place in the starting XI ahead of Marcus Rashford.

Striker: Romelu Lukaku

There’s only one option for us up front and Romelu Lukaku has scored in his last two after missing our New Year’s Day game at Everton.  The Belgian didn’t get among the goals when we drew the reverse fixture at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.

Here’s how the team looks: