Kyle Walker returns to the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City v Burnley Preview
Manchester City will welcome former captain Kyle Walker back to the Etihad Stadium for the first time since leaving the club over the summer.
Walker won six Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, and the Champions League in 2023 during his time with the club.
Outside of this, Burnley represents a must-win for Guardiola as they look to improve on their inconsistent start to the campaign.
City team news
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland is fit and ready for Manchester City’s Premier League meeting with Burnley on Saturday. Haaland, who has started the season in prolific form, missed the midweek win at Huddersfield after suffering a minor back problem in the draw at Arsenal, but Guardiola said the striker is available to return.
There was further encouragement with the news that Mateo Kovacic, absent all season with an Achilles injury, could be in contention to feature, although City will take a cautious approach to his recovery. Guardiola also revealed that several players remain sidelined, with Rayan Cherki (thigh), Rayan Ait-Nouri (muscle) and Omar Marmoush (knee) all unavailable for the visit of the Clarets.
Last time out for the blues
City faced Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup, which saw Guardiola's play out a routine 2-0 win. Phil Foden put his side ahead inside 20 minutes, before turning provider for Savinho with just over 15 minutes left of the second half to play.
Turning back to the Premier League, they played out a 1-1 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. They would have definitely seen this as two points dropped having been in the lead for most of the game.
 |
| Full-time scenes at Huddersfield |
Key stats ahead of the match
Manchester City have taken only seven points from their opening five Premier League matches this season (W2 D1 L2), their lowest return at this stage since 2006-07 when they collected four. Yet they have spent 54% of their game time in a winning position, the highest proportion of any side in the division.
City have beaten Burnley in each of their last 13 meetings in all competitions by an aggregate score of 46-2. Only against West Brom (14 up to January 2018), Bournemouth (15 up to February 2024), Watford (16 ongoing) and Fulham (18 ongoing) have they ever put together longer winning runs in their history.
Burnley are without a win in their last 19 league visits to Manchester City (D6 L13), a run stretching back to a 5-2 victory in March 1963. The Clarets have also been beaten in each of their last seven Premier League matches at the Etihad Stadium.
Comments
Post a Comment