Manchester City vs Burnley LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
Follow all the action from Etihad Stadium
Julian Alvarez celebrated his 24th birthday with two goals as Manchester City cruised to a 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Burnley at the Etihad Stadium to climb to second in the Premier League table.
It was a stroll for the champions as Rodri added a third goal to ensure a 13th win in a row against Burnley, during which time City have scored 46 goals and conceded two. Ameen Al Dakhil netted a late consolation for the visitors.
Pep Guardiola’s side moved to 46 points from 21 games, two behind leaders Liverpool, who play Chelsea later on Wednesday. Burnley are second bottom and seven points from safety having played a game more than Luton Town in 17th.
City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne made his first start for City since the opening day of the season and striker Erling Haaland came off the bench for the final 20 minutes after missing the previous 10 games due to injury.
Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.
Manchester City vs Burnley
Kompany makes one change from his last starting line-up against Luton, with Berge coming into midfield for Cullen, who drops to the bench. Fofana, who joined on loan from Chelsea in January, could make his debut as a substitute here at the Etihad. Trafford is also between the posts on his return to his former employers.
Manchester City vs Burnley
Haaland is deemed only fit enough for the bench as Guardiola makes six changes from the FA Cup win over Spurs. De Bruyne comes in for his first start since a lengthy injury lay-off, captaining a side that also sees Nunes, Stones, Lewis, Doku and Ederson come in. Alvarez leads the line for City, who will at least have their talismanic Norway forward to call upon from the substitutes after his return from a foot issue.
Manchester City vs Burnley
SUBSTITUTES: Jack Cork, Connor Roberts, Anass Zaroury, Aaron Ramsey, David Datro Fofana, Josh Cullen, Jacob Bruun Larsen, Han-Noah Massengo, Arijanet Muric.
Manchester City vs Burnley
BURNLEY (4-4-2): James Trafford; Vitinho, Dara O’Shea, Hjalmar Ekdal, Ameen Al Dakhil; Johann Gudmundsson, Josh Brownhill, Sander Berge, Wilson Odobert; Lyle Foster, Zeki Amdouni.
Manchester City vs Burnley
SUBSTITUTES: Erling Haaland, Sergio Gomez, Kyle Walker, Stefan Ortega, Mateo Kovacic, Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias.
Manchester City vs Burnley
MANCHESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Rico Lewis, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol; Rodri, Matheus Nunes; Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku; Julian Alvarez.
Manchester City vs Burnley
Returning to his old stomping ground in the blue side of Manchester, Vincent Kompany will be desperately hoping for an unlikely result against his old employers. The Belgian’s Burnley are winless in four games across all competitions and were held to a frustrating draw with fellow strugglers Luton Town in their last Premier League outing. The Clarets are some seven points adrift of safety already, with Championship football appearing increasingly likely to be played at Turf Moor next season.
Manchester City vs Burnley
Pep Guardiola’s side trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by five points heading into this Matchday 22 clash, albeit having played a game fewer. City were 3-2 victors over Newcastle United in their last league outing, saved by some late brilliance from the fit-again Kevin De Bruyne and Oscar Bobb. The reigning English champions were also 1-0 winners against Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday, when Nathan Ake provided a last-gasp deciding goal in north London.
Manchester City vs Burnley
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