The new Premier League season kicks off tonight as Manchester City travel to face Burnley at Turf Moor. Pep Guardiola’s side made it five League titles in six years last term, forming part of an historic Treble-winning campaign, and the challenge is now doing it all over again.
City were beaten on penalties by Arsenal in the Community Shield last weekend, but they were on top for much of that match and will be confident of making a fast start to their title defence. Erling Haaland is expected to lead the line as he looks to back up a stunning first year in England, while Josko Gvardiol is in contention to make his debut.
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany takes on his former club, looking for a more positive result than when City beat his side 6-0 in the FA Cup last season. The Clarets were too good for the Championship but now face the ultimate test as the return to the top-flight. Follow Burnley vs Man City with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!
Live updates
Two sides full of confidence!
Fair to say both these teams enjoyed memorable seasons last year!
For Man City, they finally got their hands on the Champions League trophy, sealing a Treble-winning campaign after a relentless final four months of the season.
Burnley meanwhile cruised to the Championship table, picking up 101 points and finishing 21 points ahead of Luton in third. Now just the small matter of taking that form into the Premier League.
City dominant last time they met
Burnley had a taste of the Premier League last season, when they came up against Man City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
It didn’t quite go to plan. Guardiola’s side won 6-0 to book their place at Wembley in emphatic fashion – Burnley fans will hope their team has learnt a lot from that encounter.
Here are the highlights from that match, probably more appealing to City supporters than it is those in the Clarets corner…
Guardiola: Kompany destroyed the Championship
Vincent Kompany was Man City captain under Pep Guardiola, and his former boss has unsurprisingly been full of praise for the Belgian in the build-up to this match.
“Normally the first games are difficult in itself, especially against the newly-promoted sides because they have nothing to lose and they have energy and the dream to do a good season,” Guardiola said.
“[Kompany] did an incredible job last season, because he changed completely the way Burnley play for the last years under Sean Dyche and he destroyed the Championship.
“He’s done an incredible job and I’m sure he’s going to do really, really well. It will be a tough, tough game, especially at the beginning of the season.”
Man City keen on Paqueta
West Ham face a fight to keep Lucas Paqueta after Manchester City launched a £60million move for the Brazil international.
Paqueta has emerged as a shock target for Pep Guardiola and City have made an initial approach to West Ham.
The Hammers do not want to lose Paqueta but know it could be difficult to keep hold of the 25-year-old if the Treble winners push hard to sign him.
It is understood West Ham would only listen to offers of more than £85m for a player they signed for a club-record fee of £51m from Lyon last summer.
Click here for more on that!
First montage of the season…
Just under two hours to go until kick-off and we are up and running on the montage front.
Burnley setting the scene nice and early, huge night for them back in the Premier League and facing the ultimate test against the defending champions..
Standard Sport prediction
Opening-day surprises have tripped up many a defending champion but the Clarets have a rotten record in this game – conceding 23 times since they last scored against City.
Pep Guardiola’s side took a while to hit top form last season, but they can be expected to get off to a strong start here.
Man City to win, 2-0.
Man City team news
Man City could hand new signing Josko Gvardiol a debut against Burnley.
The Croatian international defender joined the club from RB Leipzig in a £77.6million deal last week and was not involved during Sunday’s Community Shield penalty shootout loss to Arsenal at Wembley.
But the Treble winners may opt to give the 21-year-old his first City appearance, while star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne may also be involved.
Despite the Belgian international missing most of pre-season with a hamstring injury picked up in the Champions League final win over Inter Milan in Istanbul in June, De Bruyne did feature off the bench against Arsenal.
Given the manner in which they ended last season, it’s difficult to envisage City boss Pep Guardiola making too many unenforced changes tonight, with Nathan Ake also ready to go after injury and Mateo Kovacic in line for a competitive debut after his summer move from Chelsea.
Predicted Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Gvardiol, Akanji; Rodri, Kovacic; Bernardo, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland
Burnley team news
Goalkeeper James Trafford is hoping to make his competitive Burnley debut tonight, having signed for the club from City earlier this summer.
Jordan Beyer, Dara O’Shea and Zeki Amdouni have all been heavily involved in pre-season are set to feature too.
Predicted Burnley XI: Trafford; Roberts, Beyer, O’Shea, Vitinho; Cork, Cullen; Redmond, Brownhill, Zaroury; Amdouni
How to watch Burnley vs Man City
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports, with coverage of Friday Night Football beginning at 7pm.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action right here with us!
Good evening!
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Burnley vs Man City – the new Premier League season is here!
City begin their title defence with a trip to Burnley, managed by a man in Vincent Kompany who they are certainly familiar with. Pep Guardiola’s side were in sensational form at the end of last season on their way to the Treble, challenge for them is picking up from where they left off.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 8pm BST from Turf Moor. Stay with us!
