Burnley vs Man City
Venue: Turf Moor
Kick off: 1:30PM
Manchester City make the short trip to Turf to face Burnley with the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to 18 points.
The Clarets find themselves in a battle to keep hold of seventh place in the standings, but Sean Dyche’s biggest concern will be his side’s streak of nine games without a win in all competitions.
On the flipside, Burnley dug deep – and benefitted from an own goal – to claim a 1-1 draw away at Newcastle United on Wednesday night, and that result could be the catalyst which gets the Clarets back on track.
Goalkeeper Nick Pope continues to be a revelation between the sticks and Burnley have still only conceded 22 goals in the league this season, but their lack of converted efforts at the other end of the pitch is a major concern.
Chris Wood has been a big miss but the New Zealand international remains Burnley’s top scorer with four goals, and Dyche will no doubt be hoping that the January additions of Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Aaron Lennon can lead to an improved return in the final third over the next three-and-a-half months.
Before back-to-back clean sheets against Cardiff City and the Baggies, City had gone six games without a shutout – a streak which would have been seven had it not been for Ederson’s penalty save against Crystal Palace – so all in all, Pep Guardiola got his priorities right ahead of a big few months for the club.
Guardiola’s main focus now is maintaining the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero.
In City’s last four games, the pair have contributed a remarkable eight goals and three assists between them and Burnley will have to find a way of stopping the duo if they are to have a chance of gaining a result this afternoon.
Burnley possible XI: Pope, Bardsley, Long, Mee, Taylor, Cork, Westwood, Arfield, Lennon, Hendrick, Vokes.
Man City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Sterling, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Aguero.