TEAM NEWS
Burnley could hand debuts to summer signings such as James Trafford, Zeki Amdouni, Sander Berge and Dara O’Shea.
Michael Obafemi, who has joined after a loan spell at Turf Moor last season, is ruled out with a hamstring issue.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says Croatia centre-back Josko Gvardiol is available for his first appearance after joining from RB Leipzig for £77m.
Fellow defender Nathan Ake is fit despite missing the Community Shield against Arsenal with a minor injury.
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic could make his league debut for City after moving from Chelsea in June for an initial £25m.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Burnley have won one of their last 23 league matches against Manchester City (D6, L16), losing each of the last eight by an aggregate score of 26-1.
- City have claimed 11 consecutive victories versus the Clarets in all competitions, scoring 40 goals and conceding one.
Burnley
- Burnley have won their opening game in two of their eight Premier League seasons (D1, L5), winning 3-2 at Chelsea in 2017 and 3-0 at home to Southampton in 2019.
- The Clarets’ only home league loss last season (W16, D6) was a 2-1 defeat by QPR in April, which came after they had secured promotion.
- However, they have lost five of their last eight top-flight matches at Turf Moor.
- Burnley have failed to score a goal in the three Premier League matches they have played on a Friday (D1, L2).
- They have not received a red card in any of their 152 Premier League home matches.
- Vincent Kompany will become the first Belgian to manage in the Premier League. No Burnley boss has won their first match in the competition with the Clarets.
Manchester City
- City are vying to become the first English team to win four consecutive top-flight titles.
- Only once before has a team scored the opening goal in a Premier League season and gone on to win the competition. Liverpool did so in 2019-20, although the first goal in their 4-1 win against Norwich was actually a Grant Hanley own goal.
- This is the first time the reigning Premier League champions have been involved in the first match of the season since 2016, when Leicester lost 2-1 at newly promoted Hull City.
- Manchester City have won their opening league game in 12 of the last 14 seasons, drawing 0-0 against Tottenham in 2010 and losing 1-0 to the same opponents in 2021.
- City’s last Premier League match on a Friday was in May 2021, when they won 4-3 at Newcastle courtesy of a Ferran Torres hat-trick.
- Pep Guardiola has won 15 league and cup games against Burnley – the only side he has better record against is Arsenal (16 victories).
- Erling Haaland – who scored twice in Man City’s opening Premier League fixture last season – netted a hat-trick in his only previous game against Burnley, a 6-0 win in last season’s FA Cup quarter-finals.
