Mark Lawrenson states his prediction for Man United v Burnley
BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson is backing Manchester United to secure a 2-0 win against Burnley on Sunday evening
Mark Lawrenson is backing Manchester United to secure a 2-0 win against Burnley at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday evening.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have the chance to reduce Manchester City’s lead at the top of the Premier League table to eight points if Manchester United beat Burnley.
Manchester City are sitting 11 points clear at the top of the table but Pep Guardiola’s side will be preoccupied with their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea FC on Saturday.
Manchester United can keep their faint title hopes alive with a win against Burnley to put pressure on Manchester City, who are competing in the latter stages of the Champions League and the FA Cup.
The 20-time English champions secured a 2-0 win against La Liga side Granada on Thursday night to set up a Europa League semi-final meeting with Italian outfit AS Roma.
Burnley have only managed to win one of their last six Premier League games to leave Sean Dyche’s side just above the relegation zone.
BBC Sport pundit Lawrenson is predicting that Manchester United will record a straightforward 2-0 win over Burnley at Old Trafford on Sunday evening.
“I totally get why Manchester United have changed the seat coverings at Old Trafford from red to black to give a greater contrast to the players’ shirts on the pitch,” Lawrenson told BBC Sport.
“It could be confusing in that split-second when you have to pick a pass and play it, because, when the ball comes to you, you kind of know where your players are. You might think your team-mate is over there on the right, and you end up finding seat number 194.
“People have brought up the time in 1996 that former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson told his players to change out of grey shirts at half-time of a game they were losing, but the effect of different colours on players goes back a lot longer than that.
“I remember when Peter Shilton started playing in goal in an all-white outfit for Leicester in the 1970s, because strikers would glance at goal, mistake him for a post and try to hit it wider than they needed to.
“That was the thinking anyway. Apparently Shilton shimmered so much under the floodlights that he stood out far more than he intended too. He also got very muddy very quickly on the pitches back then – I bet that white kit needed plenty of washing.”
Manchester United have only managed to win two of their last four games against Burnley in the Premier League.
Burnley were 2-0 winners against Manchester United at Old Trafford last year thanks to goals from Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez.
