The Premier League action is coming thick and fast now that the competition has returned and we have another match to enjoy on Monday evening when Manchester City will look to delay Liverpool’s title celebrations when they host Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.
Burnley are the last side to get their season back underway and they could barely have a harder match to get started again with. City have had the luxury of a match already to blow away the cobwebs and get into their work.
Man City
The champions won on their return to action on Wednesday night when they proved to be far too good for a terrible Arsenal side. It might be that Burnley put up a stiffer test than the Gunners but you get the feeling that isn’t going to bother Manchester City much. One thing which will be interesting to look out for is the team that Pep Guardiola goes with here. The Premier League has gone but they have another game this week and then an FA Cup quarter final at the weekend and that last game could well be his priority.
I would imagine there will be a lot of eyes on City from a defensive standpoint here. We all know what they can do going forward but with Eric Garcia laid out by Ederson on Wednesday night, the home side could be weak defensively, but if they are going to go on and land the FA Cup and the Champions League they will not be able to afford that. Ultimately though it is probably not going to matter here as they may well be able to score at will.
Burnley
If there is one thing we know about this Burnley outfit, it is that it will be well drilled and organised, hard to break down and tough to beat, however there is also a good chance that they are going to be extremely rusty and that doesn’t bode well in a game like this. The good thing for Burnley is that they are perfectly safe now so in terms of what they have hanging on this game the answer is relatively little apart from professional pride.
The break came at the wrong time for Burnley as they went into lockdown unbeaten in seven matches, and after a tough first half of the campaign, they were absolutely flying. It is going to be hard for them to get that form back again because even if they do everything they can to avoid complacency, motivation when they know there is little to play for just makes it so tough. They can at least play with freedom and no pressure though.
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Team News
Manchester City are going to be without Eric Garcia after he ended up in hospital after his collision with Ederson on Wednesday night. John Stones is rated as a doubt as well but there could be a starting berth for Sergio Aguero.
Burnley striker Ashley Barnes is not going to be fit to play in this match. Sean Dyche has suggested that the match will come too soon for Chris Wood as well so the Clarets are likely to be a little light in the forward areas.
Betting
You wouldn’t be betting against Manchester City in this match even if they hadn’t already had a run out, but the fact they have makes them almost impossible to oppose. The problem is they are priced accordingly and we’re not going to get particularly rich backing them to win the match. I can’t possibly oppose them though so the task at hand is to find a market in which we are comfortable backing them in and which we’ll get nicely rewarded in the process.
The one I’ve come up with is the win to nil market. Burnley actually scored in the reverse meeting between the two but so much has changed in the world since then. Burnley have been beaten 5-0 in their last two trips to the Etihad Stadium and while they might not take such a beating with the lack of a crowd potentially halting the momentum and intensity of the City players, I do think they’ll leave without scoring. It looks like Burnley are going to be without their two main goal threats and when you think their touch is likely to be off in tight areas I just don’t see them scoring. I don’t see City not winning so the 5/6 on a home win to nil looks the way to play this match.
Tips
Back Man City to win to nil for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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