City ring the changes for visit of Burnley | OneFootball

City make six changes for this afternoon’s return to Premier League action at home to Burnley.

From the side that began our 2-0 Carabao Cup victory at Huddersfield in midweek, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Tijjani Reijnders, Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland all come into the starting line-up for the visit of Scott Parker’s side.

There’s also a welcome return on the bench of Mateo Kovacic with the Croatian fit again after missing the first month of the season as he recovered from an Achilles problem.

Rodri misses out this afternoon as the Spanish midfielder is not fully fit.

James Trafford, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis, Oscar Bobb and Divine Mukasa, who all started at Huddersfield, revert to the bench.

Rayan Cherki (thigh), Rayan Ait-Nouri (muscular issue), Abdukodir Khusanov (ankle) and Omar Marmoush (knee) all remain unavailable for selection.

Teams

CITY XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias (c), Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Nico, Reijnders, Savinho, Foden, Doku, Haaland.

Subs: Trafford, Stones, Ake, Kovacic, Bernardo, Bobb, McAidoo, Mukasa, Lewis.

BURNLEY: Dubravka, Walker, Laurent, Ekdal, Esteve, Hartman, Florentino, Cullen, Tchaouna, Anthony, Foster.

Subs: Weiss, Worrall, Ugochukwu, Edwards, Humphreys, Flemming, Pires, Broja, Hannibal.

Line up and tactics

Gianluigi Donnarumma returns in goal, and the Italian shot stopper will be protected by a back four of Nunes, skipper Dias, Gvardiol and Nico O’Reilly, fresh from signing his new long-term contract.

Nico will be the holding midfielder with Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden also deployed in the City engine room.

Erling Haaland will operate as the Blues’ attacking focal point with Savinho and Jeremy Doku set to be deployed on either flank.

However, as always, such is the tactical flexibility in the City ranks that could be subject to change.

Hot shot Erling

It’s fair to say that even by his own magnificent standards Erling Haaland has enjoyed a stellar start to the new season.

Going into today’s match, our master marksman has already amassed 11 goals for club and country.

And the 25-year-old will step out this afternoon on the cusp of a number of new notable landmarks.

One more goal would see Erling move into the top 10 scorers in City’s history.

WATCH: Guardiola previews Burnley clash

To date he has netted 131 times in 152 appearances for the Club, a mind-boggling rate of return.

What’s more, another goal would also mean Haaland has scored more Premier League goals than any other Norwegian, surpassing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The pair are currently level on 91 PL strikes.

You wouldn't bet against him!

Walker’s return

Today’s clash will see the return to the Etihad of former City skipper Kyle Walker, who will be sure of a warm reception from the Blues' faithful.

The England full-back departed City in the summer after eight memorable seasons in Manchester.

Over the course of his stay he both helped Pep Guardiola’s side amass 18 major trophies in what proved the most successful period in the Club’s history and cemented a reputation for being one of the finest full-backs ever to play for the Club.

Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference, Guardiola lavished our former No.2 in praise.

“Pretty sure everyone is happy to see him back. He is one of the players that have been unbelievable for us,” Pep said.

“The right back that defined our time here in the last 9-10 years so pretty sure he’ll get the credit from our fans cause he deserves it.

“One of the greatest. Consistency and no injuries play every game, incredible figure in the locker room.”

WATCH: O’Reilly: None of this would have been possible without the support of my Mum

Stats and facts

• City have won each of our last 13 meetings with Burnley in all competitions by an aggregate score of 46-2. Only against West Brom (14 ending Jan 2018), Bournemouth (15 ending Feb 2024), Watford (16 ongoing), and Fulham (18 ongoing) have the Citizens ever enjoyed a longer winning run in their history.

• Burnley are winless in their last 19 league visits to City (D6 L13) since a 5-2 win in March 1963. The Clarets have lost each of their last seven Premier League games at the Etihad Stadium.

• City have just seven points from their five Premier League games this season (W2 D1 L2), their lowest tally at this stage since 2006-07 (4). However, the Citizens have spent 54% of their game time in a winning position this term, more than any other side.

• No side have faced more shots (95), more shots on target (25) or has a higher xG against (10.5) than Burnley in the Premier League this season. However, City are averaging 11 shots per game in the Premier League this term, their lowest on record in a single campaign (since 2000-01).

• City have scored more goals from fast breaks than any other side in the Premier League this season (3). It’s already as many as they scored in the whole of 2024-25, and one more than they scored in 2023-24 (2).

• No goalkeeper has made more saves in the Premier League this season than Burnley’s Martin Dúbravka (19), with his seven against Nottingham Forest last time out also the joint-most by a keeper in a game this term (level with David Raya vs Manchester United).

• Erling Haaland has scored 67% of City’s Premier League goals so far this season (6/9). Despite this, his six goals so far is his lowest return after five games in his four campaigns with the Citizens (9 in 2022-23, 7 in 2023-24 and 10 in 2024-25).

• Jaidon Anthony has been involved in four goals in his five Premier League games this season (3 goals, 1 assist), the joint-most by a player in Burnley’s first five games in a single campaign. It’s also as many goal involvements as he registered in his first 33 appearances in the competition (3 goals, 1 assist).

• Erling Haaland (285) and Burnley’s Lyle Foster (282) are the two leading players for pressures applied in the opponent’s half so far in the Premier League this season.