Mata value to fire United to success

Manchester United are odds-on at 8/15 with Coral to beat Burnley at Turf Moor in the first of Saturday’s televised games (12.45pm KO, Live on BT Sport 1), and I fully expected them to get the job done and notch their first success of the season.

New manager Louis van Gaal has not had the start he had hoped for, with the Red Devils managing just one point in two league games before being dumped out of the Capital One Cup in a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of MK Dons in midweek.

The Dutchman fielded a much changed team in the latter, and the big guns will be back in action for sure in this encounter.

New signing Angel Di Maria could also potentially be in the starting XI, and he will bring a touch of much-needed quality and pace in midfield.

Though many will be keen to take on United in their current form, I firmly believe that Van Gaal will get it right and expect them to prove too strong for a Burnley side that have yet to register a point since their return to the top-flight.

Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney top the goalscoring markets, but the best value could lie with the in-form Juan Mata.

The Spaniard has netted seven in his last nine appearances for United, and that makes him look tasty at 6/1 in the first scorer market.

Coral are also offering 12/5 about Mata being on target and United winning, and that also looks a decent punt in a game which has goals written all over it.

In the day’s other game on TV, Everton look worth siding with at the 12/5 on offer to beat Chelsea in their encounter at Goodison Park (5:30pm KO, Live on Sky Sports 1).

The Toffees have won four of their Premier League home games against the Blues, and Roberto Martinez’s side have shown enough in their two opening matches to suggest they are too big a price to beat them again.

Everton were quick out of the blocks against Leicester City and Arsenal before throwing away leads to draw both fixtures, and if games had ended at half-time this season they would be top.

The Merseysiders have become a tight unit under Martinez, who are difficult to beat on their own patch and, providing they have learnt from mistakes made in their two opening games, I can see them serving it up to Chelsea and edging what promises to be a hard fought affair.