Manchester City vs. Burnley, Premier League: Players to Watch

Manchester City are back in action in the Premier League this Saturday, welcoming Burnley to the Etihad looking to remain unbeaten this season and stay on top of the table. The Blues have been amazing over the last few weeks, but they’ll face a really tough test this weekend.

Burnley have made a fantastic start to the season and are currently 7th in the table with only one loss in eight matches. The Clarets picked up seven points against Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton, proving they can make things very tough for the big teams in the Premier League.

This promises to be a difficult game for the Blues, and there are a few players on both sides who could be crucial for the result on Saturday. Here are four of them:

James Tarkowski

When Michael Keane left the club over the summer to join Everton, there was a feeling Burnley would really struggle to find a replacement for the team’s best defender last season. But Sean Dyche is a talented coach who always finds a way, and he found in Tarkowski a great replacement for Keane.

The 24-year-old was Keane’s backup last season and was asked to step up his game this year, and his start to the season has been truly fantastic. Tarkowski is a very strong defender with good pace and good passing as well, and he’s shown all the qualities needed to be a very good Premier League center-back. It’ll probably be tough for City to score against Burnley, and one of the reasons will be Tarkowski.

Raheem Sterling

With 8 goals in 11 games to start the season, Sterling has shown clear improvement under Pep Guardiola and has been one of the Blues’ best performers so far. We’ve all known about his pace and skills, but the end product has always been his biggest problem.

His decision making has been exceptional so far, and every time Sterling has the ball something good seems to happen. As Guardiola has mentioned multiple times over the last few weeks, Sterling has played closer to the goal and he’s clearly enjoying the new role. If City get the win against Burnley, don’t be shocked if Sterling is directly involved in multiple goals.

Chris Wood

After scoring 41 goals in the Championship for Leeds United over the last two seasons, Wood joined Burnley to replace the departing Andre Gray and has made a flying start to his Clarets career. He has four goals in 8 appearances in all competitions and is already the starting striker, with fan favorite Sam Vokes having to sit on the bench.

Wood has the pace and size to deal with the physicality of the Premier League, and he’s skilled enough to keep the ball and find runners. He’s also a terrifying header of the ball, and he’ll be the biggest threat on set pieces on Saturday. City need a good plan to deal with him, and it won’t be a surprise if he gets a goal at the Etihad.

Sergio Agüero

Welcome back, Kun! It looks like Agüero will be making his return to the side after missing the last three weeks with a broken rib, and while the team hasn’t exactly suffered without Agüero over the last three weeks, it’s always better to have him than not to have him.

Agüero scored three goals in two games against Burnley last season, and his goals won both matches against the Clarets. It’s not bad to have Sergio back against them, right?