Vincent Kompany will return to his former stomping ground when he takes his Burnley side to the Etihad Stadium for a tricky test against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on Wednesday night.
The two teams meet for the first time since the opening weekend of the campaign back in August last year when the Citizens cruised to a 3-0 victory at Turf Moor.
Match preview
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Following a five-game winless streak without scoring a goal at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Man City managed to finally end their hoodoo on the white side of North London courtesy of a slender 1-0 victory over Ange Postecoglou's side in the FA Cup fourth round last Friday.
Despite their dominance in possession, it looked as if the Citizens would endure another goalless trip to Spurs after squandering a succession of chances, but Nathan Ake's 88th-minute strike – City's first-ever goal with their 102nd shot at the venue – was enough to send the FA Cup holders through to the fifth round, where they will face Luton Town away from home at the end of February.
Pep Guardiola's men have certainty found their groove in trademark fashion heading into the second half of the season, as they have won nine and drawn one of their last 10 matches across all competitions, scoring 28 goals in the process, since losing 1-0 at Aston Villa on December 6.
However, as they were last season, Man City are playing catch-up in the Premier League as they currently sit second in the table, level on points with third-placed Arsenal and fourth-placed Aston Villa, while Liverpool – who face Chelsea and the Gunners in their next two games – boast a five-point lead at the summit.
The Citizens have a game in hand on their title rivals, though, and Guardiola's side will be confident of success on Wednesday as they have won 16 of their last 17 meetings with Burnley, including their last 12 in a row by a remarkable aggregate score of 43-1.
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Burnley will have had 19 days to rest and prepare for Wednesday's trip to Man City, with their last outing ending in disappointing fashion as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to fellow relegation-threatened side Luton Town on January 12.
The Clarets were on course to claim three crucial points courtesy of a first-half goal from Zeki Amdouni, but Carlton Morris's controversial headed equaliser in the 92nd-minute was allowed to stand following a lengthy VAR review, despite an apparent block from Elijah Adebayo on goalkeeper James Trafford in the build-up.
An enraged Kompany labelled VAR's decision to award Luton's leveller as a "joke" after the match, and his Burnley side remain 19th in the Premier League table, five points adrift of safety with daunting encounters against Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal on the horizon.
Since securing a 5-2 victory at Man City back in March 1963, Burnley have failed to win any of their last 16 top-flight away games against the Citizens, who themselves enter Wednesday's contest having won 15 of their last 16 Premier League matches against newly-promoted teams.
However, Burnley have fared better on the road so far this season having accumulated twice as many points away from home (eight) than at Turf Moor (four), while no other Premier League team has won more away games against the reigning champions over the last seven seasons than the Clarets (two), who beat Chelsea (August 2017) and Liverpool (January 2021) during this period, providing a glimmer of optimism ahead of Wednesday's clash.
Team News
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Man City have received a triple injury boost as Guardiola has confirmed that Erling Haaland, Manuel Akanji and John Stones are all available for selection on Wednesday, although it remains to be seen whether the Catalan boss will decide to immediately name any of the trio in his starting lineup.
Should Guardiola opt to gradually reintroduce Haaland, Julian Alvarez will be expected to continue as the central striker, while a back four of Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Ake and Josko Gvardiol is set to remain intact if Akanji and Stones begin as substitutes.
Guardiola has revealed that Kevin De Bruyne will soon be ready to start for Man City; the playmaker has made three substitute appearances since recovering from a long-term hamstring injury picked up in the reverse fixture against Burnley, and he is in contention to be named in the first XI on Wednesday.
As for Burnley, Charlie Taylor (shoulder), Nathan Redmond (hamstring) and Luca Koleosho (knee) are all facing lengthy spells out through injury, while Jordan Beyer (thigh), Hannes Delcroix (knock), Sander Berge and Aaron Ramsey (both illness) are all doubtful.
Hjalmar Ekdal, who has struggled with injuries this term, started just his second Premier League game of the season against Luton last time out, and the centre-back will hope to retain his place in the first XI alongside Dara O'Shea, while Ameen Al-Dakhil is set to continue at left-back in the absence of Taylor.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson and 19-year-old Wilson Odobert could continue to provide width in Kompany's side on the flanks, while Amdouni is expected to join Lyle Foster up front.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, Foden, Doku; Alvarez
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Vitinho, O'Shea, Ekdal, Al-Dakhil; Gudmundsson, Cullen, Brownhill, Odobert; Amdouni, Foster
We say: Manchester City 3-0 Burnley
It is difficult to back against a comfortable Man City victory on Wednesday considering the contrasting form of the two sides as well as the Citizens' exceptional record against the Clarets.
Kompany will hope that his side can frustrate the hosts and avoid making any crucial errors at the back while attempting to play an expansive brand of football against one of the best possession-based and goal-hungry teams around. However, Guardiola's men should have few problems breaching a leaky Burnley backline, even if Haaland is not quite ready to make his impending return form injury.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
