Date: Wednesday 31st January, 2024
Time: 8:30 pm
Stadium Etihad Stadium
Referee Samuel Barrott (England)
Goal Scorer:
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola is close to having an entire squad at his disposal, with Erling Haaland rejoining training. The Norwegian has missed a few games since the turn of the year. But there are chances of him making it to the matchday squad.
Manuel Akanji remains the other potential absentee and may not make the midweek clash. Other than that, Manchester City will have a complete set of players, meaning Guardiola could probably name the same back four of Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol for the game against Burnley.
Kevin De Bruyne, who has made three substitute appearances since returning to action, could be in for his first start. However, Haaland will probably have to stay content with a place on the bench, with Guardiola likely to decide to give the Norwegian some minutes depending on how the game goes.
Hence, Julian Alvarez might get another run in as Manchester City’s leading striker, a game where he wants to prove something to his manager. If De Bruyne makes the cut, Guardiola might change his formation to a 4-3-3 to accommodate the Belgian and Bernardo Silva alongside Rodri, which could see Mateo Kovacic take his place on the bench.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Foden, Alvarez, Doku
Burnley
Vincent Kompany would have certainly liked to have a full-fledged squad at his disposal. But unfortunately, Burnley are missing a host of their first-team players. Charlie Taylor, Nathan Redmond, and Luca Koleosho are all out for the long term, while others are unavailable with separate problems.
Jordan Beyer, Hannes Delcroix, Sander Berge and Aaron Ramsey are absent, meaning Kompany must tinker with his squad and make the right selection decisions. Hjalmar Ekdal, who recently started a game for Burnley, is attempting to keep his place in defence.
Dara O’Shea, while Ameen Al-Dakhil could join Ekdal in the backline, with the latter likely to replace Taylor at left-back. Josh Cullen and Josh Brownhill are primed to keep their central midfield positions intact, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Wilson Odobert likely to take up the wide positions.
Up front, Kompany will persist with two strikers to lead the line, with Zeki Amdouni and Lyle Foster his best options.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Trafford; Vitinho, O’Shea, Ekdal, Al-Dakhil; Gudmundsson, Cullen, Brownhill, Odobert; Amdouni, Foster
Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Burnley
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