Man City drawing against Crystal Palace has allowed Liverpool to close the gap at the top of the table and right now, City are just one point above their rivals.
Both teams have played the same number of games and next up, Man City take on Burnley in the Premier League and Pep Guardiola’s side will be hoping to avoid any further slip-ups. We don’t expect City to drop points vs 19th placed Burnley but then we didn’t expect a draw against Palace either.
Manchester City have not been defeated in 14 of their previous away games in the Premier League and on the other hand, Burnley have lost three and drawn one out of their last four outings. This is a very big mismatch in terms of strength but if the home side decides to sit back and defend deep then they can very well frustrate City.
The Cityzens are obviously the overwhelming favourites to pick up a win on Saturday but Guardiola does have a few injury concerns before this match plus they have a Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid next week so the manager will have to select his first XI very carefully.
Man City team news & injury updates vs Burnley:
Guardiola could miss several players due to injuries this weekend and most of the injured players are defenders. John Stones withdrew from the England squad due to a groin injury and he remains a doubt for the Burnley vs Man City tie.
Ruben Dias is also sidelined with a thigh injury and he will be touch and go on Saturday. If neither Dias nor Stones can be fit in time then the Man City boss will have to rely on the partnership of Nathan Ake and Laporte in central defence.
Just a reminder that Ruben Dias is only 24 years old ⭐ pic.twitter.com/AVmTA5TBXB
— ManCityzens (@ManCityzenscom) March 27, 2022
Ederson was another Man City player who did not play during the break but he only had gastroenteritis so he should be fine to play on Saturday.
Raheem Sterling suffered a dead leg during England’s game vs Ivory Coast but he should be all right to face Burnley. Now, we just have to wait and see if Pep Guardiola is willing to risk him, especially since he has ample backups in the form of Grealish, Foden and Mahrez.
Apart from these players, Man City do not have any other major doubts so the only cause of concern for Guardiola will be the defensive area. Thankfully, the home side has scored only 22 goals this season in the league so we don’t expect them to score a flurry of goals.
Burnley vs Man City odds:
Burnley: 14
Draw: 6
Manchester City: 1.22
BREAKING | John Stones has left the England Camp and will return to Manchester City as a precaution after picking up an injury before the Switzerland friendly. pic.twitter.com/1nNwhaTfIw
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 28, 2022
Recent form:
Manchester City: WWDDW
Burnley: WDLLL
Prediction:
Burnley 0-3 Man City
Kick-off details:
Venue: Turf Moor
Time: 2nd April 15:00 GMT
Referee: Craig Pawson
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Stats courtesy Fotmob.