Preview: Burnley vs Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester City could climb to the top of the Premier League table and relegate Burnley in the process if they claim maximum points at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.

The Citizens, fresh from their vital victory over leaders Arsenal, eased to a 5-1 win in the reverse fixture against the Clarets at the Etihad Stadium, courtesy of a brace from Erling Haaland and two own goals from Maxime Esteve.

Match preview

Four weeks on from their EFL Cup final triumph over Arsenal at Wembley, Man City seized control of the Premier League title race with a massive 2-1 victory against the Gunners in an epic Etihad encounter on Sunday, courtesy of goals from Rayan Cherki and Haaland.

At full time, Citizens supporters wasted no time in unveiling a banner adorned with the words ‘Panic on the streets of London’ from The Smiths' 1987 hit 'Panic', mocking Arsenal's perceived lack of bottle following a run of four straight domestic defeats. In contrast, Pep Guardiola’s troops have lost only one of their last 20 league games (W13 D6).

Not since 2021 have Man City suffered a top-flight defeat in the month of April (W30 D3), proving why they are the true masters at the business end of the season, and all the momentum is now with the sky blues, as they bid to climb back to the summit for the first time since August 21, 2025.

Currently three points behind Arsenal with a game in hand, Man City travel to Turf Moor on Wednesday having accumulated more away points than any other Premier League team since the start of December (21 - W6 D3 L1), with their only defeat during this run suffered against rivals Man United at Old Trafford in January.

The Citizens also have an exceptional record against Burnley, winning 14 of their last 15 Premier League meetings by an aggregate score of 45-6 since losing 1-0 at Turf Moor in March 2015. In addition, they are unbeaten in their last 29 top-flight matches against promoted teams (W26 D3) since losing 2-1 to Leeds United in April 2021.

Less than a decade ago, Burnley were competing in the Europa League under Sean Dyche. Now, the Clarets look set to continue their trend of being a yo-yo club between the Premier League and Championship, with top-flight demotion seemingly a matter of when not if.

Scott Parker’s side were heavily beaten 4-1 by survival hopefuls Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with a one-goal half-time advantage thrown away after conceding four goals in the final 32 minutes at the City Ground. This defeat represents Burnley’s 45th in their last 71 Premier League games over the last two seasons.

Relegation for a third time following promotion will be confirmed if 17th-placed West Ham United avoid defeat against Crystal Palace on Monday and Burnley lose to Man City on Wednesday; this would leave the Clarets more than 12 points adrift with only 12 left to play for.

Just one win has been posted across the last 24 Premier League matches by Burnley, who are also winless in their last 12 top-flight home fixtures; only once in their league history have the Clarets endured a longer winless league streak at Turf Moor (14 between February and October 2021).

Pulling off an almighty upset against Man City will be a tall order for Burnley, who have lost each of their last 11 encounters with the Citizens, their longest ever losing run against an opponent in their league history. As for Parker, he has suffered defeat in all five of his PL meetings with Man City as a manager by an aggregate score of 16-1.

Burnley Premier League form:

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Team News

Burnley will be without injured quintet Josh Cullen, Zeki Amdouni (both knee), Hannibal Mejbri, Jordan Beyer (both thigh) and Connor Roberts (calf), while Axel Tuanzebe (heel) will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Parker may consider reverting to a five-man defence, with Kyle Walker in contention to start as a right wing-back against his former club. Josh Laurent and Bashir Humphreys, meanwhile, will battle for a start at the heart of the defence alongside Esteve and Hjalmar Ekdal.

Zian Flemming, who scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season in the defeat to Forest, is expected to continue up front with Jaidon Anthony, while James Ward-Prowse, Florentino Luis and Lesley Ugochukwu could all link arms in centre-midfield.

As for Man City, Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) remains sidelined, while Ruben Dias (ankle) and Rodri (groin) are both doubts, the latter of whom sustained his injury in the second half against Arsenal.

Nico Gonzalez would presumably deputise in midfield if Rodri is not fit to start. Captain Bernardo Silva and Rayan Cherki, meanwhile, are both set to retain their starting spots in the middle of the pitch after excelling against Arsenal.

Haaland has an impressive minutes-per-goal ratio of one every 36 minutes against Burnley (seven goals in four games) and the Norwegian is expected to lead the line once again, with Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo - who has scored three goals in as many top-flight games against the Clarets - set to provide support from out wide.

Burnley possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Walker, Ekdal, Laurent, Esteve, Hartman; Florentino, Ugochukwu, Ward-Prowse; Anthony, Flemming

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

We say: Burnley 0-3 Manchester City

Considering the gulf in class between these two teams, their contrasting runs of form and their head-to-head record in recent seasons, it is difficult to look beyond a comfortable Man City victory here.

Burnley will be fighting for their lives as they bid to postpone their inevitable relegation, but we expect a ruthless Citizens outfit to have too much quality for the defensively-frail hosts, particularly in exploiting the spaces left behind by a Clarets side forced to chase a result.

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