Premier League Stats
W9 - D3 - L1 ... We have played them 13 times in the Premier League; winning on nine occasions, drawing thrice and have lost only once ... and that 1-0 loss came almost six years ago, back in March 2015 at Turf Moor.
We remain the form team in this league at present but they aren't doing too bad either. They have won three of their last five league games which include 'that' win at Anfield a couple of weeks ago. During this period (of last five league games) they have also won their two FA Cup ties, so that makes it a decent total of five wins out of last seven games.
Their game this weekend isn't till tomorrow (against Chelsea, away) so their stats aren't updated below. Our stats however do include our game against Sheffield United.
Pre-Match Thoughts
I went out last night to get some milk from my local supermarket and the radio was on in the car; it was only a five minute drive (and don't ask me which station or who it was as I already can't remember) but some random presenter was talking about Burnley and said Manchester City properly own them and whoop them every single time while against all other teams they're always up for it and stay in their games till the very end. Then he went on to give us some credit as well that how 'even Burnley' can't handle the movement of our players and the fluidity of our game ...
He went on to heap some more praise on Pep and his methods but I didn't hear all that because my mind was stuck on what he had first said about Burnley being our whipping boys and I was like whaaaaaatttt? That's not the common belief amongst City fans and I'm sure when this pre-match thread gets going, I'll see a whole lot of "they're always a tough team" or "this will be the hardest of our recent games" etc. etc.
Actually forget what is to come ... I have already seen all this in the last pre-match thread (the Sheffield United one) where I read quite a few comments by you lot suggesting to rest players against Sheffield as it's Burnley up next or stating that the game ahead with Burnley is surely the tougher one.
Made me go back and review each of our fixtures over last three years a bit more in detail to remind myself of what has been going on ... gave you one stat above that we've only lost once to them in this century (back in March 2015) and then if you go further back looking for another loss against them ... well, you have to go all the way back to October 1974. And there haven't been that many draws in all this time either ... only three if you go all the way back to division two in 1998 and they are well spread out as well (one in 2018, another in 2014 and one in 2009).
So yeah, I don't know where this perception about their toughness originates from ... perhaps by watching their results against other teams where they clearly are the 1-0 merchants or champions of nil-nil ... but against us is altogether a different matter ... our last four home games against them have resulted in 5-0 wins to us ... and the three away games in between those have been 3-0, 4-1 and 1-0 wins for us ... so yeah, they might be tough and disciplined and what not for everyone else but against us they wet their pants every time ... and so I don't expect any different this time around.
Scheduling has been a little kind to us for this one as well as we get an extra day's rest over them. As for them, they take on Tuchel's Chelsea this Sunday then play us on Wednesday and then next Saturday they play Brighton at home ... guess which game would they be prioritizing this week and would be at the forefront of their thoughts?
The Game After
Talking of Burnley having an eye on their next game and perhaps even prioritizing that one ... well, guess what would be on our minds this week? Not sure if it will be on Pep's or the teams' minds (and I certainly hope it is not) ... but the fans thoughts are a different matter all together. Surely our minds are already racing ahead to that encounter at Anfield next weekend. Maybe that's just the nature of a fan's view as I've noted in previous threads as well that we always seem to have the upcoming game sorted but are worried more for the one after ...
All I will say to that and it is the oldest of clichés ... One. Game. At. A. Time!
Winning at Anfield would give us the same amount of points - three - that're up for grab at Turf Moor first. That might be true in simple mathematics terms but in reality ... no, not quite ... those three would be a lot more in the context of the season at large but let's explore that further in the next pre-match thread ...
That also makes these three points (against Burnley) far more important than the one's we've already picked in last few games. Because dropping points now - just before heading to Anfield - would be just the boost Scousers would need to get their tails up. Go there with (at least) four points lead and a long winning run intact and that'd be demoralizing in itself to begin with ... so these three points first ... and hold on to those red thoughts for a few more days!
Match Prediction
For a change, we'll win there this time ... oh wait, my mind's raced ahead too ;)
Well, we'll win at Turf Moor too ...
Burnley 0 - 3 Manchester City
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