The State of Play
Manchester City come into this one on the back of a slender 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in their most recent outing at the weekend, with a late Nathan Ake goal securing their progression into the fifth round of the FA Cup. The ‘double treble’ remains a possibility as they welcome several key men back from injury and are now enjoying a ten-match unbeaten run of form across all competitions.
They now face a Burnley side that begin this midweek sitting firmly in the bottom three and the relegation places. The Clarets have managed just three victories in their 21 games so far this season but have begun to show some signs of fight and life with improved performances in the Premier League. They were denied victory in their most recent outing nearly three weeks ago when Carlton Morris scored a second-half stoppage-time equaliser at Turf Moor for Luton Town.
Read our other football news stories here:
Postecoglou: Spurs won’t be busy between now and deadline
Pochettino: Klopp news won’t change anything for Liverpool
Frank hoping for Brentford transfer activity but Nusa deal in doubt
Team News
There was a suggestion that Erling Haaland will be able to return to the Manchester City side for the first time since early December. He may not start at the Etihad Stadium but should still be in the squad. They will also have Manuel Akanji back available after injury.
Vincent Kompany returns to the Etihad Stadium with a Burnley side that could be welcoming four players; Jordan Beyer, Sander Berge, Aaron Ramsey and Hannes Delcroix, back to the squad for this one. Charlie Taylor remains unavailable, whilst both Nathan Redmond and Luca Koleosho are set to be missing.
Expected Line-ups
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Silva; Alvarez
Burnley: Trafford; Vitinho, O’Shea, Ekdal, Al-Dakhil; Gudmundsson, Cullen, Brownhill, Odobert; Foster, Amdouni
What they Said
Pep Guardiola is intent on ensuring a ‘double treble’ and was full of praise for their victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday evening. Guardiola described the performance as ‘unbelievable’.
Vincent Kompany heaped the praise on his former coach, Pep Guardiola, ahead of Burnley’s trip south to the Etihad Stadium. “I think people that have his quality have that effect on a lot of people and not just myself. That’s why they’re the best. Everyone is trying to build their own journey, it’s not a carbon copy, it’s got different elements to it but the greats of this world, it’s what they do. They trigger people to do something of their own.”
When and How to Watch
This match will take place at the Etihad Stadium at 19:30 on Wednesday January 31st and will take place live on TNT Sports in the UK. It can also be streamed live on the TNT Sports app.
Prediction
In the nine matches that Manchester City have played against Burnley at the Etihad Stadium during the Pep Guardiola-era, City have managed nine victories and they have scored 37 goals in the process. That includes a 6-0 demolition of Burnley in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season. Another comfortable and heavy City victory is to be expected, albeit some changes could disrupt their overall fluency in attack.
