Burnley vs Manchester City – 8:00pm, Friday 11th August
The Premier League season kicks off with an intriguing match between Burnley and Manchester City at Turf Moor on Friday night.
The 2023/24 Premier League season begins on Friday night with newly-promoted Burnley taking on Manchester City at Turf Moor.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Premier League, Friday, August 11, Kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event
Predicted score
Burnley 1-4 Manchester City
Suggested bets:
Team news
Exciting forward Michael Obafemi (hamstring) is going to miss this game after undergoing surgery recently, but Vincent Kompany should have an otherwise entire squad to select from.
Kevin de Bruyne wasn’t risked from the off in the Community Shield but could start here, while Joao Cancelo is back in Pep’s inner circle and could be an option.
Nathan Ake (fatigue) was rested last time out but could be an option here, although John Stones and Josko Gvardiol look sure to partner each other at centre back.
Burnley vs Manchester City betting preview
There will be a carnival atmosphere at Turf Moor on Friday night, as newly promoted Burnley will look to mark their return to the top flight with a seismic shock.
The Clarets should go well under Kompany this season, but competing in this league and competing with the champions are two different things.
Manchester City have lost the services of Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan this summer but have brought in Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol.
Pep Guardiola’s side are the overwhelming favourites to retain their crown and while they may not yet be the finished product, they’re expected to beat Burnley.
Fans and pundits alike will do well not to write off Burnley this season. The Belgian’s side are one of the best to ever win the Championship and they’ll be able to compete.
Their stylistic approach gives them a good chance of pinching points from teams outside of the top eight, and we are anticipating they cause a shock or two along the way.
However, there’s plenty of reason to believe that won’t happen here. City have scored 25 unanswered goals since Burnley last found the net against them.
The last meeting between the sides saw the Cityzens romp to a 6-0 victory in the FA Cup and Burnley haven’t overhauled their squad since that day, and more importantly, haven’t changed their style.
Kompany is his own man but you can see Pep Guardiola’s influence on his style. Trying to fight fire with fire against City was always going to end badly.
The visitors have scored 15 first-half goals across eight meetings with Burnley and there’s good reason to believe they’ll open the scoring early again here.
The hosts will stick to their guns with their approach, and so they should, but it will likely allow City to pass around them and find gaps from the off.
Kevin de Bruyne could return to the starting line-up and feature alongside Kovacic, Rodri, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva in varying midfield to wide midfield roles.
Burnley duo Joe Cullen and Josh Brownhill have got the legs to get through the necessary work, but there are question marks over Jack Cork in a game of this nature.
Nathan Redmond, Anass Zaroury, Manuel Benson and Zeki Amdouni all look capable on the break and it’s worth noting the visitors conceded in 66% of Premier League matches last term.
Burnley will have their moments and it wouldn’t be a shock to score, but we expect City to open them early and often and create plenty of chances for Erling Haaland.
