VINCENT KOMPANY savoured some epic Old Trafford victories as a Manchester City player and will be hoping to make more magical memories when he bosses Burnley at the Theatre of Dreams in a Carabao Cup tie against Manchester United.
The legendary Belgium defender looked to have accepted a poisoned chalice when took charge at Turf Moor, with the Clarets mired in financial problems after relegation from the Premier League.
But Burnley proved me wrong when I tipped them to lose their Championship opener at Huddersfield and that victory has set the tone for a promotion push.
Saturday's 3-1 win over Middlesbrough made it an astonishing eight victories in their last nine games and Kompany's men have lost just once in 22 games since August.
They sit six points clear at the top of the Championship and will fancy their chances of shocking a Manchester United side coming out of cold storage after the World Cup break.
All the focus was on Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Old Trafford as we headed into Qatar 2022 but Erik Ten Hag can now finally move on after the club severed ties with their petulant Portuguese prima donna.
The Dutchman can be pretty content with the start to his own reign and United were also in fine form before the break, losing just once in 12 games.
He fielded a strong team when Manchester United saw off Aston Villa in the last round of the League Cup and will be looking to use this game to build some momentum ahead of the Premier League restart.
How the bookies view it
Burnley look a little overpriced at 10/3 (BoyleSports) to qualify and 7/1 (Betfred) for a win in 90 minutes given their impressive form and the fact United might be rusty.
Ten Hag's side are a best 2/9 at Bet365 to go through while the price increases a little to 7/17 at SBK for a victory in normal time.
Head to head
It ended in a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor when these sides last faced off in the Premier League but Burnley's record in this fixture is pretty poor, with just one victory in the last 15 meetings.
That triumph did come at Old Trafford, though, with Chris Wood and Jay Rodriguez sealing a 2-0 victory back in January 2020.
Players to watch
Ten Hag isn't expected to field his strongest side, with most of his World Cup stars likely to get more recovery time. But Anthony Martial has worked on his fitness during the break and should be fresh to impress up front. The Frenchman is 7/5 for anytime scorer at Bet365 and that looks good value if he's leading the line.
Jay Rodriguez has been a key player for Burnley so far this season, netting nine times, and will fancy a repeat of that Old Trafford goal two years ago. The striker is 4/1 with Bet365 for anytime scorer.
Anything else catch the eye?
Manchester United are short of options in defence so it could pay to back BTTS in this one at 10/11 with William Hill. Burnley have drawn just one blank all season and have netted three times in each of their last four games.
Over 3.5 goals has landed in four of the six last for the Clarets so that also stands a chance here at 8/5 with Paddy Power.
Jack Cork will be at the heart of the midfield battle and has picked up nine cards so far this season for Burnley. He has picked up yellows in his last four matches so looks overpriced for a card here at 3/1 with Bet365.
This EFL Cup match between Manchester United and Burnley will be played on Dec 21, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs Burnley prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
