The football season is upon us and what better way to start the season than a trip to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. The former Manchester City defender has guided the Clarets back to the Premier League at the first attempt and welcomes his old boss and teammates to Turf Moor for the opening match.
While City have walked away from the Lancashire club with the three points in the bag on many occasions, Burnley will be no pushovers this time around. As the stats will show, the blues firmly have the edge on their opposition but, with it being the first match and City being notoriously slow starters, it may not be as easy as some people think.
Recent Meetings
City are unbeaten in seven league and cup matches at Turf Moor and have lost just one of their last 14 in Lancashire. The solitary defeat in 2015 surprised the blues and then manager Manuel Pellegrini, as City failed to close the gap on eventual champions Chelsea.
City have won the last five, with an aggregate of 15-3 and their last meeting ended with a 2-0 win for City. Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan put the blues 2-0 up after 25 minutes and that’s how the match finished.
Wins and Losses
From 55 matches at Burnley, City have won 21 and lost 22 – a win for the blues on Friday will level the win ratio. The good news for the blues is that the majority of wins have been in recent years. Prior to City’s 1-0 FA Cup win in 1991, the blues had won just ten matches from their previous 42 played at Turf Moor, a dismal and depressing statistic that has now been banished to the history books.
City’s longest winning run at Turf Moor is five matches. Between April 2019 and April 2022, City won all five league and cup matches in Lancashire, a repeat of their five straight wins between January 1991 and April 2010.
On the other side of the coin, the blues longest losing streak is six matches. Thankfully, this was between February 1920 and April 1925!
Goals Galore
There have been many goals between the two in this fixture over the years, and in recent times, most have been for City.
In the Premier League era, the blues have scored 32 to Burnley’s 7. Burnley have failed to score more than once against City during this period. Before the Premier League, City scored 54 goals to Burnley’s 76.
Burnley’s biggest win remains 6-3 in January 1962, while the blues hit the Clarets for six in March 1999, running out 6-0 winners.
Despite City’s good record, they have only kept 16 clean sheets, and have only failed to score on 14 occasions. Goalless draws are rare, with only four being played out in their entire history at Turf Moor, the last coming in 1976.
August Dates For Blues
City have faced Burnley at Turf Moor six times in the month of August, including two on the opening day.
On 21st August 1948, City travelled to Burnley for the first match of the season and lost 1-0. Ten years later, they returned for the opening day of the 58/59 season and won 4-3. On 30th August 1960, the blues continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 win and in 1969, City picked up a point in a 1-1 draw.
In August 1999, the blues travelled to Turf Moor twice and recorded a 1-0 League Cup win, and in 2001, Shaun Goater bagged a hat-trick as the blues won 4-2. That was his second treble at Burnley, following his hat-trick in the 6-0 win three years earlier.
Will the blues make it six straight wins on Friday, or are Burnley ready to spring a surprise?
