Manchester City vs Burnley, FA Cup Round 4: Team News, Preview and Prediction

Competition/Round: 2018/19 FA Cup – Round 4

Date/Time: Manchester City vs Burnley – Saturday, 26 January 2019, 15:00 (UK); 10:00 EST, 07:00 PST (USA)

Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, United Kingdom

Match Officials:

Referee: Graham Scott

Assistants: Adrian Holmes, Michael McDonough

Fourth Official: Tony Harrington

VAR: Andre Marriner, Scott Ledger

TV Info: N/A

Live Stream: ESPN+ (USA)

Radio: BBC Radio Manchester (UK)

Preview:

The FA Cup has returned. Manchester City will host Burnley on Saturday in the competition’s fourth round.

Manchester City recently overcame Burton Albion in the EFL “Carabao” Cup Semifinals. The Blues will look to channel this energy as they seek to advance in their second cup competition in as many matches this week.

Meanwhile, Burnley manager Sean Dyche stated he will make several changes in the line up for this match. Given Burnley’s current standing in the English Premier League table (they are three points above the drop zone), this seems implies the club will prioritize EPL survival over the FA Cup.

Team News:

Manchester City are without long term absentee Claudio Bravo. Benjamin Mendy returned from his injury spell and had a cameo role in the match against Burton Albion.

Burnley’s Aaron Lennon, Johann Berg Guðmundsson and Jonathan Walters are sidelined through injury. It is unlikely this trio will feature in this match.

Possible Lineups:

Manchester City

Formation: 4-3-3

Muric; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Mendy; De Bruyne, Gündoğan, Foden; Mahrez, Jesus, Sané

Manager: Pep Guardiola

Burnley

Formation: 4-4-2

Pope; Bardsley, Long, Gibson, Ward; Hendrick, McNeil, Westwood, Taylor; Barnes, Vydra

Manager: Sean Dyche

Prediction:

Albeit against weaker opposition, Manchester City defeated their previous five opponents in all competitions by a score of 23-0. The Blues will look to add to this tally as they host the Clarets on Saturday in the FA Cup Fourth Round.

Meanwhile, Burnley understand the financial implications of being relegated to the Championship. In order to avoid this, it is believed they will field a weaker side which would see them eliminated from the competition. The circumstances are unfortunate, but this would allow them to devout their time, energy and resources toward EPL survival.

Therefore, it is predicted this will be a routine victory for the hosts. City to advance to the FA Cup Fifth Round.

Manchester City 3-1 Burnley