Premier League champions Manchester City will be away to Burnley at Turf Moor for the 2023-24 season opener by 8pm later tonight.
The opening game of the 2023-24 Premier League season brings an early reunion for Vincent Kompany and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
It will be another clash of the ‘master vs apprentice’ on Friday night as the champions visit their former captain Kompany as the Burnley boss gets his first taste of Premier League management.
Last weekend, Man City lost the Football Association’s Community Shield, a match that serves as a traditional curtain-raiser to the season to Arsenal at the Wembley Stadium.
In a case of ‘master vs apprentice’ encounter; the apprentice Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal beat City 4-1 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation on Sunday to win the first trophy of the football season.
Having guided the Clarets to the Championship title last season, Kompany’s side will want to put up a fight against the champions of both England and Europe. tonight.
In a case of multiple reunion, Burnley could hand former City goalkeeper James Trafford a debut after he joined from the Citizens for £15million this summer.
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The Clarets have also moved to strengthen their backline, with Jordan Beyer signed permanently and Dara O’Shea at centre-half.
City won by two clear goals in 21 of their 28 league victories last season, scoring 19 goals across their six meetings with the promoted sides in 2022-23.
Their star striker Erling Haaland scored a record 56 goals in 58 games. However, he made little to no impact in last weekend’s Community Shield and would want to prove himself before the Clarets fans tonight.
Aside Haaland, Nathan Ake is another player currently nursing an injury and that could see new signing Josko Gvardiol come into the Citizens defence, while Cole Palmer may have earned a start by scoring at Wembley on Sunday.
Man City won 6-0 when these two sides met in the FA Cup earlier this year. The Citizens won 10 of 11 visits to sides placed 10th or lower in 22/23.
Burnley on the other hand has lost their last eight league meetings with Man City by an aggregate score of 26-1.
City has won 11 straight games against the Clarets in all competitions, scoring 40 times.
Across the last 14 Premier League campaigns, only Tottenham have avoided defeat against Man City in the opening game.
