Predicted Starting Line-Up: Burnley vs Manchester City (Premier League) | OneFootball

A fresh-faced Manchester City side travel to Burnley this week in search of a vital three points to round off an impressive Premier League matchweek for the Blues.

Pep Guardiola’s players showed on Sunday afternoon that they mean business, as a spirited home performance against trailblazers Arsenal left this season’s Premier League title firmly in the hands of those of an Etihad Stadium persuasion.

A memorable clash between two of the Premier League’s behemoths set up the climax of an enthralling title race which now looks to go down to the wire, with a bouncing Etihad and fans from all over the globe fixated on a pivotal 90 minutes of action.

After a flurrying start, it was Rayan Cherki who waltzed through what has been a cast-iron Arsenal rearguard unit this season to open the scoring and kick off the party in all corners of the home crowd – silenced just moments later through a horror Gianluigi Donnarumma error.

With the season’s most important match hanging in the balance, the game’s most heated battle came between Erling Haaland and Gabriel Maghalaes, whose tussles and showdowns were a representation of the fixture as a whole.

But it would be the Norwegian to come out on top, as he stepped up from the shadows to poke home the all-important winner, and send the Manchester City hopefuls into uninterrupted bedlam, and shrugging off the aforementioned Brazilian defender in the process.

The win puts Manchester City just three points behind leaders Arsenal, but the Blues have a match to spare for a bid to go top of the tree for the first time since Matchweek 1 of the ongoing Premier League campaign.

City’s focus shifts swiftly to their Wednesday night trip to Turf Moor to face a Burnley side languishing in the depths of the relegation places, albeit with an outstanding ability to bare their fangs on home soil.

But with the Blues boasting a dazzling recent form record, their endeavour for the Premier League title continues here, and this is how we think  they will set up at Turf Moor!

Predicted XI

Despite his calamitous mistake last weekend leading to Kai Havertz’s swift response to Rayan Cherki’s opener, Gianluigi Donnarumma has been exceptional throughout the season, and we are confident that the Italian giant will continue in that vein.

Matheus Nunes has cemented his place at right-back this season, and the question that lingered throughout the campaign was whether the former Sporting and Wolves star could handle the pressure of a title run in. Fast forward to the latter stages of April, and the Portugal international is the best man for the job.

There can really be no other option than to continue with the dynamic force of Marc Guehi and Abdukodir Khusanov in the central defensive places.

The pairing has been pivotal in the most uncertain of moments across the last three matches, and following Ruben Dias’ latest fitness struggles, the two slot perfectly into the side. A defensive kinship as well balanced as these two is a rare sight.

Nico O’Reilly is relishing what has been a short City career so far, with the elegance and class of a servant of a decade. The Englishman was pivotal against Arsenal, and is proving his worth as a Young Player of the Season contender with each passing game.

With Rodri sidelined through a calf injury sustained against Arsenal, Nico has proved himself this season as a more than capable understudy to the Ballon D’Or winner, and his non-stop aggression in and out of possession will suit a Wednesday night trip to Burnley.

Bernardo Silva: a Manchester City legend. His performance against Arsenal could be described as a match-winning one, and his humble performances have been winning vital matches since his very first season in 2017/18. The Portuguese international must start.

Man of the moment and a name on everybody’s lips; Rayan Cherki, and rightly so. The Frenchman’s heroics in the tight contest against Arsenal handed the Blues a massive leg up in the title race, and his ball control moving forward at pace will strike panic into any defender.

While struggling to make his mark against the Gunners, Antoine Semenyo has that special something going forward that Pep Guardiola craved so badly in January. The Ghanaian has been a smash hit so far, and his work rate combined with output makes him hard to drop.

Jeremy Doku’s lightning quick acceleration can unlock any defence, and when things are struggling to get moving, it’s often a clever idea to shift the ball out to the Belgian to make something magic happen on his left flank.

And completing an unchanged line-up, we think Erling Haaland will continue to lead the line as the marksman goes in search of more and more numbers to push Manchester City on their way to a ninth Premier League title via the match against Burnley.

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Nico, Bernardo, Cherki; Semenyo, Haaland, Doku.

Substitutes: Trafford, Stones, Ake, Ait-Nouri, Kovacic, Reijnders, Foden, Savinho, Marmoush.