Thread by @EBL2017

Burnley-Manchester United is an interesting one because Burnley will largely negate any sort of settled pressing United will attempt to implement with their direct style. As such, the game will consist of a lot of midfield duels as a result of Burnley going long.

GAME-THREAD.

Within those duel situations, Burnley are the slightly superior physical team thanks to their tenacious, battling midfielders combined with the ability to win the first duel with the 6'5 Weghorst up front. However, Maguire & McTominay will enable United to win duels of their own.

Those midfield duels after long kicks into midfield are essential in games like this, and for both teams. Burnley can take control away from United by regularly winning the duels and mounting settled or transitional attacks but United are more dangerous if the duels are won.

If United can win the duels and find a player with time and space on the ball then Burnley are in big trouble. They will have a high line with little pressure on the ball and United have the likes of Pogba, McTominay & Bruno who can pick United's runners beyond the last line out.

Burnley can of course trouble United in a similar fashion but the problem is they are overly reliant on Cornet as a transitional weapon. McNeil is dangerous too, but he's not your typical modern-day outlet type winger. They also don't have the passing quality when compared to Utd

So, even if Burnley do dominate the duels in midfield, United have the ability to exploit them and score after winning just a couple of them whereas Burnley will need to dominate the duels to score due to their inferior quality i.e. United don't need as many chances to score.

Again, as a result of those midfield duels, it will also determine the theme of the game. Each team will attempt to exploit each other in transition within those moments but they'll also look to be patient and mount settled attacks. This is absolutely imperative to game flow.

If Burnley mount a settled attack they will be able to create vs United's deep block and use their top quality pressing to pressurise United's underloaded build-up. This could see them control the game & exploit United (the danger of Utd playing through their press is present).

However, the theme of Burnley pressing United high will primarily be prevalent in the early stages of the game. As the game wains on, natural fatigue will take place & Burnley won't be as aggressive. They also lack the technical quality to keep the ball in settled play. Utd don't

Alternatively, when Utd mount settled attacks, Burnley don't have the same level of quality to play through United's (counter)press to regain technical control or exploit them on the counter. Cornet/Weghorst/McNeil are big upgrades outlet wise for Burnley, but they're still short

This is where the theme of the game will become United attempting to break Burnley's block down & that'll result in a loss of control for Burnley as United's likelihood of scoring increases as they continue to sustain that pressure with BUR lacking quality to get out.

As such, the early moments in the game are crucial for Burnley. Sure United can play out of Burnley's press because they have top technicians but they only have a single pivot with two attack-minded #8's. They can be exploited in that regard. Gamestate plays a big factor here.

If Burnley can exploit United's average build-up early on and score, then them being inevitably forced back into a low block for large periods in the game isn't such a bad thing because their level of control is increased. They're winning - it's okay to sit back and "hold on".

The problem with teams who don't press high is when they go 1-0 down. They need to get the ball back to try & level things up but their plan is to block space deep. That makes little sense. Burnley aren't that type of team tactically but their lack of quality makes them that team

However, at 1-0 up, it's a controlled approach. The key for Burnley is to:

1) win duels in midfield to make the game a battle.

2) use their outlets and midfield duels to force United back and get up the pitch to use their pressing.

3) press hard early on when fully energised.

United are devastating and can strike at any time so at 1-0 down the game becomes near-impossible for Burnley unless United are playing poorly individually but they can make things very competitive at an even gamestate, and particularly early on when pressing high.

And, see, the thing with pressing high early on is it is dependent on the opposition. How many mistakes will they make under the compact press? Will they play out and force Burnley back early or continue to make mistakes and pressing may become a theme for the entire half?

There's a lot of variables here that are dependent on many things, but it'll be a top affair if Utd don't go 1-0 up early doors. Burnley are uber-competitive in every game they play and are compact and physical in every phase. Their duel success rate, outlets + pressing is so key