Burnley v Man City tips, odds, betting preview & TV details

TV: Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 2.05pm Sunday

Manchester City have three more obstacles to clear in their bid to land successive Premier League titles and Pep Guardiola's side can overcome the first of those at Burnley.

Turf Moor has the potential to be a tough battleground and Liverpool will be hoping the Clarets can serve up the kind of resistance which helped them beat Tottenham at home as well as draw away to Manchester United and Chelsea.

Burnley also avoided defeat in this fixture last season, grabbing a surprise 1-1 draw, and Sean Dyche does not come across as the kind of boss who will allow his players to totally relax after hitting the primary target of the season in staying up.

However, City lacked a bit of focus themselves in the February 2018 draw as they went to Burnley looking to extend their advantage at the top to 18 points.

Raheem Sterling missed an open goal and Guardiola did not even fill his subs bench, but this is very different as City know the title is on the line.

Burnley have been battered 5-0 twice at the Etihad this season with City managing 20 shots on target to the Clarets' none and a more conservative success - in a match featuring under 3.5 goals - could be the best bet.

City have won their last 11 Premier League matches and the Carabao Cup holders remain on course for a domestic treble even after the disappointment of exiting the Champions League on away goals to Tottenham.

Guardiola's team, though, have rarely gone for the throat of the opposition, and seven of those 11 victories featuring no more than three goals.

That includes 1-0 wins over West Ham and Bournemouth plus 2-0 triumphs against Fulham and Cardiff when the opportunity was there for City to go to town if they really wanted to.

City have played 12 away matches in 2019. Eight were against Premier League opponents and seven of those finished with no more than three goals.

Burnley will presumably look to defend deep, deny City space and then cause problems from set-piece opportunities.

It's difficult to do that for 90 minutes against a side possibly containing Leroy Sane, Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva, while defensively City have conceded just twice in their last ten Premier League matches.

City dominate the ball, averaging 64 per cent possession, and concede fewer than seven shots per game, while no Premier League team average fewer shots than Burnley's 9.7.

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

Recommendation
Man City to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 23-20 Betway

Team news
Burnley
Phil Bardsley is set to return to the squad, but Peter Crouch, Aaron Lennon and Steven Defour remain sidelined.

Man City
Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out, while Fernandinho faces a late fitness test.

Key stat
Man City have scored 157 goals in all competitions this season.

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport