Manchester City vs Burnley preview: De Bruyne returns to squad after knee injury

By Ric Turner, Fri 19 October 2018 14:59


Manchester City vs Burnley preview: De Bruyne returns to squad after knee injuryBelgian midfielder back in contention following nine weeks on the sidelines

Manchester City vs Burnley

Competition: F.A. Premier League

Date: 3.00pm, Saturday 20th October 2018

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Referee: Jonathan Moss Assistants: E Smart, A Halliday Fourth Official: C Kavanagh

Odds: City 1/10, Draw 14/1, Burnley 40/1

Tickets: Available via tickets.mancity.com

TV: Match of the Day (highlights)

Manchester City

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Squad (from): Ederson, Grimshaw, Muric, Kompany, Laporte, Mendy, Otamendi, Stones, Walker, Zinchenko, Delph, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Foden, Mahrez, Sane, B Silva, D Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Jesus

Injured: Bravo, Danilo, Gundogan, Mangala

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Form guide: WWWWD

Burnley

Manager: Sean Dyche

Squad (from): Hart, Heaton, Lindegaard, Lowton, Taylor, Tarkowski, Mee, Bardsley, Long, Cork, Gudmundsson, Hendrick, Defour, Westwood, Lennon, Vokes, Barnes, Wood, Vydra

Injured: Ward, Pope, Gibson, Brady

Doubtful: Defour

Suspended: None

Form guide: LWLWD

Kevin De Bruyne is back in the squad after missing the last nine weeks with a knee injury sustained at The Emirates on the opening weekend of the season. Fabian Delph is also back in contention, although Ilkay Gundogan will be unavailable for the next fortnight. Danilo is also ruled out with an anke injury picked up on international duty with Brazil.

“I don’t know if he [De Bruyne] is able to play 90 minutes", said Guardiola at Friday's press conference.

"He trained the last two weeks. He has no pain and is ready to be part of the group.

“He is such an important player for us. Whenever a player is out, I like when they come back because the stronger we will be.

“Kevin, there is no doubt how important he is for us."

City's last home league game against Burnley at The Etihad ended in a 3-0 victory, with Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi, and Leroy Sane netting for the Blues. Overall City have won 44 of the 99 games played against Fulham, with 25 draws and 30 defeats.

Predicted line-up: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Mendy, Fernandinho, D Silva, B Silva, Sterling, Sane, Aguero

Score prediction: Manchester City 3 Burnley 0