Manchester City v Burnley – Head To Head

After what has seemed like an eternity, the Premier League returns to our season, and not a moment too soon either. The blues take on Burnley at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, knowing victory should be enough to keep the at the top of the league, providing a goal glut from Liverpool or Chelsea doesn’t ruin it. Let’s take a look at the stats behind the match.

It is safe to say that Burnley at home is one if City’s favoured fixtures. The two have met in Manchester on 48 occasions, with the blues losing just seven of those fixtures.

The two first met in November 1897, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. It was one of only five of the first twenty matches between the two that ended in a stalemate, with City winning 15, which included a nine match winning streak between 1900 and 1923. During that run, the blues scored 55 goals against the Clarets, while conceding just 17 and keeping ten clean sheets.

Burnley recorded their first ever win at City in April 1952 as they beat the blues 1-0, but had to wait another six years before winning their next game 3-1. The Clarets went on to win this fixture the following season (1-0), then 4-1 in 1958 and 2-1 in 1960. September 1961 saw another Burnley win, while their final victory came in march 1963, when the visitors recorded their most goals at the home of the blues, winning 5-2 at Maine Road. This means Burnley haven’t won at City for 55 years, which is a sixteen match unbeaten run for the blues.

City’s longest winning run came between 1900 and 1923, while the most games they have gone without a win is three, 1954-1956. The highest scoring match between the two came in October 1925, when City beat Burnley 8-3. The highest winning margin is 7-0, which came in December 1968. The highest score draw in this fixture came in November 2009, when city came back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to draw 3-3.

Out of the 28 league and cup matches played, City have won 28, with 13 draws. There have been four goalless draws in this fixture, the last coming in October 1975. That was also the last time Burnley kept a clean sheet away to the blues. City have kept the Clarets from scoring on 20 occasions, , the last time coming last season when the blues won 3-0 at the Etihad.

The last time these two met was last season in the FA Cup. Burnley took a first half lead, but succumbed to the bleus goal-scoring power as City scored four second half goals to win 4-1.

In total, City have scored 113 goals in this fixture, and conceded 53. The longest streak City went without scoring came in 1952, when City lost 1-0 in March and drew 0-0 thw following September. Two seasons later, the blues drew 0-0 again, with only a 3-2 win on Halloween 1953 preventing an unwanted goalless streak of four matches.

The teams have faced each other six times in October, with City winning three, drawing two and losing one. In those six fixtures, City have scored 26 goals, compared to Burnley’s 8.

Who will win on Saturday and will it be a match littered with goals? Join us on Saturday to find out.