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The game, Burnley's first under the management of Brian Laws, will surely provide a Clarets' record of the highest ever attendance for a league game, beating the previous highest of 74,867 against Everton at Goodison Park on 27th December 1960.
It is probably one of the games most Burnley fans had up near the top of their lists when we won promotion and the tickets for the game went quickly which will see just short of 3,000 Burnley fans perched in the corner.
The place is a lot different than it was on our last visit in 1984 for a League Cup game and even more so since we last played them in the league during the 1975/76 season.
For the second time we go into a game this season looking to complete a double. It will be difficult but who knows?
Apparently we are being told that Manchester United are not playing well just now. Maybe not, but they still sit second in the league and are just one point behind leaders Chelsea.
They might well have lost four Premier League games away, including the defeat at Turf Moor, but their home record remains second only to Chelsea's with one draw against Sunderland and one defeat against Aston Villa.
We've had some tough games this season, and none were tougher than the game at Chelsea, but there is no doubt that, not playing well or not, Manchester United away will be a tough one.
Whilst Burnley have been struggling through the snow and ice this week, Manchester United flew out to Qatar for some sun on their backs and some training in a better climate. Included in that training were Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves, but neither of them will start tomorrow.
Ferdinand could be on the bench, but Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed he won't start. One player who could return is goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. He's been given time away from the club to spend with his wife in Holland after she was taken ill. He's been back this week and could start.
One player definitely out is Darren Fletcher who was sent off last week in their 1-1 draw at Birmingham.
Manchester United's team in that game was: Tomasz Kuszczak, Rafael, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia, Wayne Rooney, Ji-Sung Park. Subs: Ben Amos, Gary Neville, Michael Owen, Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Fabio, Mame Biram Diouf.
It's difficult to know just what the Burnley team will be but given that new boss Brian Laws has been with the players for just a couple of days it isn't likely there will be too many changes. The good news for the new boss is that both Tyrone Mears and Stephen Jordan are both available again after serving a one match ban in the FA Cup tie at MK Franchise.
Captain Steven Caldwell remains absent with a groin injury but central defensive partner Clarke Carlisle has a 50% chance of playing. Previous manager Owen Coyle said he was close to being fit for the cup tie, yet two weeks on he is still only 50%.
Also out is Andre Bikey who is currently with Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations and this is the first game he'll miss.
If Carlisle returns the team could be: Brian Jensen, Tyrone Mears, Michael Duff, Clarke Carlisle, Stephen Jordan, Wade Elliott, Kevin McDonald, Graham Alexander, Chris Eagles, David Nugent, Steven Fletcher. Subs from: Diego Penny, Richard Eckersley, David Edgar, Brian Easton, Christian Kalvenes, Joey Gudjonsson, Fernando Guerrero, Robbie Blake, Steven Fletcher.
Our last league visit to Old Trafford was back on 27th December 1975 and after Ray Hankin gave us a first half lead, United came back to win the game 2-1. The win for United took them to second place, behind leaders Liverpool on goal average. We dropped into the bottom three along with Wolves and Sheffield United.
The Burnley team was: Gerry Peyton, Mick Docherty, Keith Newton, Doug Collins (Frank Casper), Colin Waldron, Jim Thomson, Mike Summerbee, Willie Morgan, Ray Hankin, Brian Flynn, Paul Bradshaw.
Previous 20 Seasons | |||||
Season | Div | Ven | Result | Att | Scorers |
2002/03 | LC | h | 0-2 | 22,034 | . |
2009/10 | PL | h | 1-0 | 20,872 | Blake |