Red-hot Manchester City rode a pair of Julian Alvarez goals to an easy 3-1 home win over Burnley at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, with Erling Haaland returning to the pitch with about 20 minutes off the bench.
Alvarez scored both of his goals in the first half off assists from Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne, then Matheus Nunes cued up a Rodri goal right after halftime.
WATCH MANCHESTER CITY v BURNLEY FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM
Burnley got a stoppage-time goal from young left back Ameen Al Dalkhil to ruin Ederson’s clean sheet.
City have been on a tear in recent weeks, winning 10 of their last 11 games in all competitions as they’ve recovered well from their wobble in December.
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Haaland and De Bruyne have been missing for much of the season, and City has a match-in-hand on Liverpool (who is leading Chelsea 2-0 at the time of post).
Burnley are in stark contrast struggling and they are now seven points from safety after Luton Town shocked Brighton on Tuesday.
Burnley hang tough but City rarely accelerate
Vincent Kompany’s return to the Etihad was a difficult one, but his men fought hard against the odds as this truly could’ve been much worse.
But that’s also because City handed starts to Rico Lewis and Matheus Nunes in the midfield and kept Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, and Jack Grealish on the bench.
City held nearly 75% possession and nearly doubled Burnley’s shot attempts at 14-8. The Clarets didn’t complete their 200th pass until deep in stoppage, just after scoring.
What’s next?
Burnley get right back at it when Fulham visit Turf Moor at 10am ET Saturday, two days before City host Brentford to close out the Premier League match week.
Manchester City vs Burnley final score: 3-1
Goal: Alvarez (16', 22'), Rodri (46'), Al Dakhil (90+3')
Manchester City vs Burnley player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Manchester City vs Burnley player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Manchester City vs Burnley player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Rodri goal (video)
Julian Alvarez strikes twice in first half (goal videos)
How to watch Manchester City vs Burnley live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2:30pm ET, Wednesday (January 31)
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium
Manchester City lineup
Our side to face Burnley 🙌
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 31, 2024
XI | Ederson, Lewis, Stones, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Nunes, Foden, De Bruyne, Doku, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Walker, Dias, Kovacic, Haaland, Grealish, Bernardo, Gomez, Bobb#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/bCj00DPaBU
Burnley lineup
Tonight's XI is locked in 🔒 pic.twitter.com/bRx94Dczfy
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 31, 2024
Manchester City injuries, team news
City have a fully fit squad as Manuel Akanji and Haaland are back, with the return of the latter a huge boost. Pep Guardiola is delighted to have Kevin de Bruyne back too and he’s presence has given the entire City team a boost. Now is when City usually kick and they’ve got 12-straight wins in all competitions against Burnley.
Burnley injuries, team news
The Clarets may be able to get some big players back fit and available but losing electric winger Luca Koleosho to injury is a huge blow. The way they coughed up a goal late on to draw at home against Luton last time out stung and they have to dig deep and improve in key moments at both ends of the pitch if they want to stay up. They face Liverpool and Arsenal in two of their next three games as the tough outings keep on coming.
OUT: Nathan Redmond (hamstring), Luca Koleosho (knee), Jordan Beyer (thigh), Charlie Taylor (shoulder) | QUESTIONABLE: Sander Berge (illness), Aaron Ramsey (illness), Hannes Delcroix (illness)