With Manchester City’s margin for error in the Premier League title race close to nil, Pep Guardiola could turn to his master marksman on Saturday to continue his excellent record against Burnley.
The Blues will return from the final international break of the season with a short trip north to face Sean Dyche’s Clarets. Guardiola will be looking to kickstart some momentum ahead of a hectic April where they face Liverpool and Atletico Madrid twice.
City have an excellent record against Saturday’s opposition under the Catalan, only dropping points on one occasion in 2018 – when Danilo’s stunning opener was cancelled out by a Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson strike. In the reverse fixture this season, City were comfortable 2-0 winners at the Etihad Stadium courtesy of goals from Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
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The meeting on Saturday is expected to be a lot tighter and it could be made even nervier by Liverpool going top of the Premier League table by the time City kick-off, with the Merseyside challengers hosting Watford earlier in the day. Guardiola will want a fast start and Riyad Mahrez could be key to that.
The Algerian has been in sensational form this season, netting 22 times in all competitions and displaying incredible amounts of quality. Burnley will be wary of facing their arch-rival when he’s in this mood.
In fact, the meeting between the sides at the start of the season was a very rare blank in front of goal for Mahrez against the Clarets. He did, however, still manage to assist De Bruyne for City’s second.
Ignoring that meeting, the winger has scored seven goals in just 259 minutes against Burnley for City, with one of his five previous appearances coming off the bench. Going back even further, Mahrez’s three goal contributions against the same opposition in a Leicester City shirt prove he is the man for this particular fixture.
Picking out one of his individual performances, his hat-trick in late 2020 marked a special game for the 31-year-old. He finished off a flowing City counterattack for his first, treated viewers to a Mahrez trademark for his second – cutting onto his left foot and bending it beyond the goalkeeper – before heading in a third.
He’s right at the top of his game at the moment, so it would not be a surprise to see Mahrez on the scoresheet once more come 5pm on Saturday. A constant thorn in Burnley’s side, the winger will likely start on the right of the front three and look to pile more misery on the team he has scored against more than any other. Combining that with his current form, the relegation-threatened backline must be dreading his arrival.
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