Analysing Burnley ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash | OneFootball

An in-depth look at Burnley ahead of this weekend’s meeting…

The Clarets make the short trip to the Etihad for a 15:00 (UK) kick-off on Saturday 27 September.

After three wins and a draw since the last international break, Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking to build on our recent strong form.

And having won the last 13 games between City and Burnley, we’ll be full of confidence against the newly promoted side.

With the help of Opta data, we evaluate Scott Parker’s team.

Recent form

With four points from their five Premier League games so far, Burnley sit just about the relegation zone in the embryonic table.

They picked up those points with a victory over Sunderland in the second week of the season and a home draw with Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

They also suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brian Barry-Murphy’s League One side Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup this week.

Preferred formation

After starting the campaign with a 4-2-3-1, Burnley have switched to a 5-4-1 formation in their last two Premier League outings.

That has seen them elect for three centre-backs in Maxime Esteve, Hjalmar Ekdal and Josh Laurent with wing-backs in Quilindschy Hartman and former City man Kyle Walker.

Lesley Ugochukwu and Josh Cullen hold the centre of midfield, with Jaidon Anthony and Loum Tchaouna on the wing in support of striker Lyle Foster.

Having conceded just twice in those two games, it seems likely that Parker will follow that blueprint at the Etihad.

Transfer activity

Burnley made 13 signings in the summer, including the likes of Walker, goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, striker Armando Broja, defender Axel Tuanzebe and Bournemouth winger Anthony from Premier League sides.

Dubravka in particular replaced James Trafford, who made the move back to City.

Manager

Parker is a former England international and PFA Player of the Year – earning a reputation as a combative central midfielder.

His playing career came to an end in 2017, with his senior managerial career starting as caretaker boss at Fulham in February 2019.

He guided Fulham to promotion in his first full season before relegation the following campaign.

A move to Bournemouth resulted in promotion at the first time of asking before losing his job early into the 2022/23 term.

A brief stint at Club Brugge followed before he picked up the Burnley job last summer, which led to his third Championship promotion campaign.

In the Premier League, he has won 10 of his 57 games in charge – picking up 44 points in total.

Physio room

Defenders Jordan Beyer and Connor Roberts are unlikely to be available for this one, while attacking midfielder Jacob Bruun Larsen faces late fitness work to be ready.

How they score their goals

Burnley’s five goals so far is the 14th best in the Premier League. However, that has come from an xG of just 4.1, which is the second worst in the division.

Their 42 shots – again the 19th most in the top-flight – is perhaps an explanation for that low xG, while they have only created six Opta-defined ‘big’ chances.

Burnley have famously targeted set pieces for their attacking output in years gone by, but only one of their goals has so far come from that method.

And in terms of possession, Parker’s team currently have the lowest average ball retention in the league – with 34%.

Jaidon Anthony is their leading scorer to this point, as one of six players on three goals.

Ashley Barnes is the only player in Burnley’s squad to have scored against us previously, netting all the way back in 2014.

How they defend

The eight goals Burnley have conceded so far is the 14th best defensive record, but their xG conceded is the worst in the division at 10.5 – meaning they concede a lot of high-quality chances.

All eight goals have come from inside the box so far and the 96 shots they’ve had on their goal is the most in the division.

WATCH: City 3-1 Burnley: Extended highlights

More goals have gone past Dubravka in the second half than the first, but the sample size is so small that it’s hard to draw conclusions this early on.

Dubravka’s save percentage of 70.4% from shots he’s faced places him 13th amongst the 26 goalkeepers to feature in the Premier League so far.

Head-to-head record

Of the 18 matches played between the sides in the Premier League era, City have won 14.

Our run of 13 successive wins against the Clarets (by an aggregate score of 46-2) is the fifth best in our history.

Burnley haven’t won in 19 league visits to City since a 5-2 win in March 1963.

In the Premier League era, we’ve won seven and drawn two of the nine home games we’ve played against the Clarets.