Burnley vs Manchester City LIVE commentary: Treble winners set for thrilling Premier League opener – kick-off time, team news and how to follow
Treble winners Manchester City will kick off the new Premier League season against newly promoted Burnley on Friday. Last season, Man City dominated in all competitions, winning the league, FA Cup, and Champions League titles. Despite losing captain Ilkay Gundogan, manager Pep Guardiola has added new faces to his side in Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol. The Citizens’ season started with a defeat in the Community Shield against Arsenal, which could give hope to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. Kompany, who led Burnley to the Championship title, will now face his former boss in the Premier League.
The Burnley vs Manchester City match will take place on Friday, August 11, with kick-off at Turf Moor scheduled for 8pm. talkSPORT will provide exclusive live coverage of the game, presented by Adrian Durham, with commentary from Jim Proudfoot and former Republic of Ireland midfielder Andy Townsend. talkSPORT.com will also run a live blog to cover all the action. To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker, and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
In terms of team news, Burnley has welcomed Wout Weghorst back into their squad after his loan spell at Manchester United last season. He could lead the line alongside Anass Zaroury and one of their new arrivals Nathan Redmond, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Zeki Amdouni, or Luca Koleosho. Man City academy graduate James Trafford may make his competitive debut for Burnley in goal. Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s top scorer last season, started in the Community Shield but was substituted. Kevin De Bruyne’s starting position for this match is in doubt after coming off the bench at Wembley. Nathan Ake is the only injury concern for Man City.
Looking ahead to the match, Guardiola acknowledged the team’s position after the Community Shield defeat and emphasized the busy schedule ahead. He mentioned the need to recover well and prepare for Burnley, followed by a trip to Athens and a match against Newcastle at home.
In terms of match facts, Haaland, who scored twice in Man City’s opening Premier League game last season, scored a hat-trick in his only previous game against Burnley. Vincent Kompany is set to become the first Belgian to manage in the Premier League, while no Burnley manager has ever won their first Premier League game in charge of the Clarets. Man City finished their previous Premier League campaign with a draw against Brighton and a defeat against Brentford, marking their longest run without a league win since 2017. Burnley lost just one home league game last season but has lost five of their last eight at Turf Moor as a Premier League side. This is Manchester City’s first Premier League match on a Friday since 2021, while Burnley has never won or scored a Premier League goal on a Friday.
Man City has won their opening Premier League game in 12 of the last 14 seasons, with both exceptions coming against Tottenham Hotspur. Burnley has won their opening game in just two of their eight previous Premier League seasons. In head-to-head matches, Man City has won 11 games in a row against Burnley, scoring 40 goals and conceding just one. Burnley has won just one of their last 23 league matches against Manchester City and has lost the last eight in a row by an aggregate score of 26-1.
In addition to the match details, talkSPORT has introduced a new match center where fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest football fixtures, results, and standings. The match center provides information on Premier League fixtures, the Premier League table, all fixtures and results, and all league tables.
Burnley vs Manchester City LIVE commentary: Treble winners set for thrilling Premier League opener – kick-off time, team news and how to follow
It’s been a long wait after last season’s remarkable campaign, but the Premier League is finally set to return with an absolute blockbuster, as Manchester City – the reigning champion’s and treble winners – travel to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Surging out of the traps in 2019-20, City’s quest for a stunning four-trophy haul was laid out before their eyes as Guardiola’s team stormed to their third successive title. Since then, Pep’s men have gone from strength to strength in pre-season, with Raheem Sterling having a particularly eye-catching campaign, netting four goals and adding four assists in five matches.
In contrast, the Clarets endured a season of toils and struggles, with Sean Dyche’s team eventually securing Premier League safety, but still finding themselves on the losing side 17 times. Manager Dyche had signed a contract extension that will see him in the Burnley dugout until 2022, and the loyal servant will no doubt be hoping for a much better campaign this time around.
Kick-off in the 2019-20 Premier League top-flight opener is scheduled for 8:30pm BST, with viewers in the United States able to catch the game from 3:30pm EST.
In terms of team news, Manchester City will have Kevin de Bruyne available after illness kept him out of midweek’s Community Shield clash with Liverpool.
The hosts, Burnley, could also field an unchanged lineup from their final Premier League match last season, with nobody picking up an injury over the course of their pre-season matches.
The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 in the UK, and NBC in the US. Supporters of both teams will be able to follow all the action from Turf Moor with live coverage on beIN Sports for those in the Middle East and North Africa, DAZN in Canada, and Optus Sport in Australia.
Of course, those unable to watch the match live can follow all the action through our official Premier League LIVE commentary right here on Sky Sports.
So, with kickoff fast approaching, the question now is can the reigning champions’ starting their defence with a victory? Or will Dyche finally taste victory against City as the Clarets look to avoid a post-European hangover?