Ones to Watch: Manchester United vs Burnley (EFL Cup)

Manchester United return to action against Championship table-toppers Burnley on Wednesday night in the EFL Cup last 16 and will be looking to book their spot in the competition’s quarter-finals. 

A reported group of 25 trained at Carrington on Tuesday, with Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez and France defender Raphael Varane absent; the pair contentsed the World Cup final for their respective nations.   

 As well as Jadon Sancho, who has been deemed not fit enough to play competitive games and continues with his 1-on-1 training.

🗣 Erik ten Hag: "Sometimes there are circumstances with fitness and mood. Now he [Sancho] is on a physical programme and our aim is to get him back as quickly as possible."

— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) December 13, 2022

Erik ten Hag will be limited in his selection for centre-backs but will have many options further up the field. 

This fixture gives the Dutch manager a chance to have a closer view of players with a point to prove as the fixture pile-up begins, and also allows him to implement tatical changes that he wasnt able to do without his leading players in the last four weeks.

Manchester United — Alejandro Garnacho

One of the players who will be looking to take advantage of the staggered return of Manchester United’s World Cup representatives will be Alejandro Garnacho. 

The teenager is unlucky not to be part of the Argentina trophy celebrations in Buenos Aires. 

Despite his youth and inexperience on the domestic and international level, Garnacho has shown, especially in the build-up to the World Cup, that under Ten Hag, he can change the flow of a game with the flick of a switch. 

His pace, elegance on the ball and direct attacking intent have been a breath of fresh air to what was quite a stale attack in the last few games before the World Cup and could’ve been of equal use to Argentina in the latter stages of their campaign. 

The Argentinan winger has already impacted this competition in the last round against Aston Villa in a 4-2 win. His 30-minute cameo was one of the main catalysts for United to come back and beat the Midland side — an explosive yet mature performance.

With the aforementioned Jadon Sancho still absent and Marcus Rashford and Antony only coming back from their breaks after their respective World Cup exits, Garnacho has the chance to stake his claim as a starting wide man for Ten Hag in the next few weeks.

Burnley — Manuel Benson

Like United, Burnley has had their attack rejuvenated by introducing a young forward, that player Manuel Benson. 

The Belgian forward has been on imperious form for Burnley this season. He is stepping up with vital goals when his team is in dire need of them whilst also being the differential within the group that sets Burnely apart from the rest. 

Vincent Kompany came into Burnely knowing he had to fill the void left by the departures of Dwight McNeil and Maxwel Cornet, and he turned to his fellow countrymen to do such a thing. 

Benson’s ability to hug the touchline or invert inside, cut onto his left foot and work a shot or pass that leads to an immediate goal-scoring opportunity is a capability that will worry Manchester United. 

He showed against Middlesborough last Saturday that if given the space, he will punish the opposition backline, a trait quite similar in one of United’s attackers, Antony. 

As seen in the video below, from 0:35, Benson hugs the touchline, lures in his opposition man from his standing position, and has the pace and skill to beat him off the dribble and eventually work the shot to score. 

Just like the Burnley team, Manuel Benson has an opportunity to announce themselves and showcase the talent that has the team widely tipped to bounce back up into the top flight on a bigger stage to a broader audience come Wednesday night. 

There’s no bigger stage than The Theatre of Dreams, Old Trafford.