Paul Merson states his prediction for Man United v Burnley
The Arsenal legend believes Manchester United will thrash Burnley at Old Trafford on Boxing Day
Paul Merson believes Burnley will be on the wrong end of a Manchester United thrashing at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.
The 20-time English champions were left frustrated following Harry Maguire’s last-gasp equaliser at the King Power Stadium to leave Manchester United contemplating a 2-2 draw with Leicester City.
Jose Mourinho will be even more annoyed at his side’s inability to see out three points after Manchester United had managed to overturn a 1-0 deficit following Jamie Vardy’s 50th Premier League goal thanks to Juan Mata’s efforts either side of half-time.
However, Chris Smalling’s fitness problems late in the Premier League clash left Mourinho’s defence in disarray and Maguire managed to pop up and steer a finish past David De Gea in the 93rd minute.
The Red Devils are 13 points adrift of current leaders Manchester City to all but end their title challenge with 19 games to go in the Premier League title race in the 2017-18 season.
Burnley lost their second Premier League game at Turf Moor on Saturday evening following Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory. Arsenal are the only other top-flight team to beat Sean Dyche’s men at home this season.
Former Arsenal legend Merson is backing the Red Devils to ease to a 4-0 win against the Clarets at Old Trafford this term.
“It is alright saying we missed chance after chance, but Man United’s final pass was sometimes atrocious and if I was the manager, I would have been fuming,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“At the highest level, that was poor. To just let players drop off and get the ball against 10 men…. But I am going to go for Man United, they are going to beat someone soon, so I am going to go 4-0 as I think losing to Spurs will have affected Burnley on Saturday.
“They got well beaten and I just think Man United are waiting for the goals to start flowing, while James Tarkowski is a big miss for Burnley – you saw that on Saturday.”
