Premier League: Manchester City vs Burnley Live
Preview
Vincent Kompany will visit his old team’s home ground as he leads Burnley against reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the opening weekend of the season last August, when Manchester City won 3-0 at Turf Moor.
After a series of five winless games without scoring at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Manchester City finally broke their streak with a narrow 1-0 win over Ange Postecoglou’s team in the FA Cup fourth round last Friday. Despite dominating possession, City struggled to find the net until Nathan Ake’s 88th-minute goal, their first in 102 attempts at the venue, secured their spot in the fifth round. Pep Guardiola’s team has regained their form, winning nine and drawing one of their last 10 matches and scoring 28 goals since their loss to Aston Villa on December 6. However, they are currently playing catch-up in the Premier League, sitting in second place behind Liverpool.
The clarets have had a 19-day break before their upcoming match against Man City on Wednesday. Their last game ended in disappointment with a 1-1 draw against Luton Town. Burnley had taken the lead with a goal from Zeki Amdouni, but Luton Town equalized controversially in the 92nd minute, leading to frustration from Burnley’s manager. Burnley is currently in 19th place in the Premier League and faces tough matches against Man City, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Despite their poor record against Man City, Burnley has performed better away from home this season and has previously won against reigning champions, providing some hope for their upcoming clash.
Head-to-head
Manchester City has historically been the dominant team in this matchup, having won eleven consecutive games against Burnley. With the exception of one game, all of these victories were by a margin of at least two goals, including their 3-0 win at Turf Moor in August last year.
Prediction
It’s hard to bet against a convincing win for Man City on Wednesday, given the differing form of the two teams and City’s strong track record against Burnley. Kompany will aim to prevent the hosts from scoring and avoid defensive mistakes while trying to play an attacking style of football against one of the top possession-based and goal-scoring teams. However, Guardiola’s team should have no trouble breaking through Burnley’s vulnerable defense, since Haaland has fully recovered from his injury.
