Man City vs. Burnley: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

It’s a case of former Premier League champions against new boys at the Etihad.

Manchester City are overwhelming favourites against Burnley. / Visionhaus/Joe Prior/Getty Images

Two teams that endured differing Carabao Cup fortunes in midweek face off at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Manchester City take on Burnley.

Pep Guardiola was able to rotate handily for Wednesday’s cup tie at Huddersfield Town off the back of a difficult week, in which City beat Manchester United and Napoli before suffering as we’ve rarely seen them in Sunday’s 1–1 draw at Arsenal.

It’s been a mixed start to 2025–26 for the Cityzens, who some expected to re-emerge at the Premier League’s summit this term. Despite Erling Haaland’s imperious form, a title challenge looks beyond Guardiola’s men based on what we’ve seen so far.

However, they’ll be expected to extend their unbeaten run against the newly promoted Clarets this weekend. Scott Parker’s side have proven to be stubborn opposition through five weeks of the new season, but they have a wretched record against the Sky Blues. City have won the previous 13 meetings by an aggregate score of 46–2.

Parker’s men were stunned in cup action on Tuesday, succumbing at home to League One Cardiff City.

Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the Premier League clash at the Etihad.

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What Time Does Man City vs. Burnley Kick-Off?

• Location: Manchester, England
• Stadium: Etihad Stadium
• Date: Saturday, Sept. 27
• Kick-off Time: 3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT
• Referee: Rob Jones
• VAR: Paul Howard

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Man City vs. Burnley Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)

• Man City: 5 wins
• Burnley: 0 wins
• Draws: 0

• Last meeting: Man City 3–1 Burnley (Jan. 31, 2024) - Premier League

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Current Form (All Competitions)

Man City	Burnley
Huddersfield 0–2 Man City - 24/09/25	Burnley 1–2 Cardiff - 23/09/25
Arsenal 1–1 Man City - 21/09/25	Burnley 1–1 Nottingham Forest - 20/09/25
Man City 2–0 Napoli - 18/09/25	Burnley 0–1 Liverpool - 14/09/25
Man City 3–0 Man Utd - 14/09/25	Man Utd 3–2 Burnley - 30/08/25
Brighton 2–1 Man City - 31/08/25	Burnley 2–1 Derby - 26/08/25

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How to Watch Man City vs. Burnley on TV

Country	TV channel/live stream
United States	fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO
United Kingdom	N/A - radio coverage provided by Man City Radio
Canada	DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada, Amazon Prime Video, Fubo Sports Network 5 Canada
Mexico	Max Mexico Amazon Prime Video

• MORE: Full list of Premier League broadcasters around the world

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Man City Team News

Erling Haaland is fit to play this weekend. / Alex Pantling/Getty Images

FPL managers will be tracking Erling Haaland’s fitness incessantly up until Saturday morning, with Bunley (H) enticing many to use their ’Triple Captain’ chip.

Haaland missed City’s cup win in midweek due to a reported back injury which bothered him last weekend. The striker has since been given the all clear to play against the Clarets.

Rayan Aït-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov all remain sidelined for the hosts, but Mateo Kovačić has returned to training and is contention to feature for the first time this season.

Guardiola was particularly complimentary of Phil Foden and Savinho in his prematch press conference, and both players could be included in City’s starting XI.

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Man City Predicted Lineup vs. Burnley

Pep Guardiola’s potential XI to take on the Clarets. / FotMob

Man City predicted lineup vs. Burnley (4-1-4-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Rodri; Savinho, Foden, Reijnders, Doku; Haaland.

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Burnley Team News

Kyle Walker returns to the Etihad this weekend. / Visionhaus/Getty Images

Kyle Walker is set to line up against his former club for the first time since leaving the Etihad permanently in the summer, and Guardiola spoke glowingly of the Englishman ahead of Saturday’s game, suggesting he is one of the greatest full-backs of all time.

With Parker poised to deploy a back five on Saturday, Walker will likely line up as a conservative wing-back down the right.

The Clarets will assess Jacob Brunn Larsen ahead of kick-off, but they’re certainly without Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts and Zeki Amdouni through injury.

Lesley Ugochukwu was back in contention in midweek, but has a battle on his hands if he’s to start on Saturday. Parker could prefer summer addition Florentino Luís to partner captain Josh Cullen in midfield.

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Burnley Predicted Lineup vs. Man City

Burnley are set to dig in at the Etihad. / FotMob

Burnley predicted lineup vs. Man City (5-4-1): Dúbravka; Walker, Laurent, Ekdal, Estève, Hartman; Tchaouna, Cullen, Florentino, Anthony; Foster.

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Man City vs. Burnley Score Prediction

Burnley have not been the walkovers some projected them to be in preseason, with Guardiola praising their capacity to change tack out of possession. City are likely to be tasked with breaking down a deep and compact Clarets block, all while taming Jaidon Anthony’s transition threat.

City are not the force they once were, but coming a cropper in these sorts of fixtures is surely beneath them. The hosts have an array of profiles capable of compromising Burnley’s stubbornness, not to mention the imperious Haaland, who’s scored six of City’s nine Premier League goals this term.

The visitors will do enough to avoid a battering, but it’s hard to envisage them succumbing to anything but a defeat on Saturday.

Prediction: Man City 3–0 Burnley

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