Burnley vs Manchester City LIVE: Latest Premier League updates

This is the first time the reigning Premier League champions have been involved in the first match of the season since 2016, when Leicester lost 2-1 at newly promoted Hull City.

Manchester City are vying to become the first English team to win four consecutive top-flight titles.

Only once before has a team scored the opening goal in a Premier League season and gone on to win the competition. Liverpool did so in 2019/20, although the first goal in their 4-1 win against Norwich was actually a Grant Hanley own goal.

Burnley have lost five of their last eight top-flight matches at Turf Moor, all during the season in which they were relegated.

They have failed to score a goal in the three Premier League matches they have played on a Friday with one game ending in a draw and two ending in defeats.

Burnley have won their opening game in two of their eight Premier League seasons (D1, L5), winning 3-2 at Chelsea in 2017 and 3-0 at home to Southampton in 2019.

The Clarets’ only home league loss last season (W16, D6) was a 2-1 defeat by QPR in April, which came after they had secured promotion

Manchester City stick with the same players from last season so centre-back signing Josko Gvardiol is on the bench, alongside Mateo Kovacic.

Erling Haaland leads the line with Julian Alvarez and Kevin de Bruyne is fit to start. Joao Cancelo is not in the squad.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany gives debuts to five of his summers signings.

Striker Zeki Amdouni starts up front, with midfielder Sander Berge, winger Luca Koleosho and defender Dara O’Shea all brought in. Goalkeeper James Trafford makes his top-flight debut against his old club.

Summer signings Nathan Redmond and Jacob Bruun Larsen are among the substitutes.

Burnley XI: Trafford, O’Shea, Beyer, Al-Dakhil, Roberts, Berge, Cullen, Koleosho, Vitinho, Foster, Amdouni

Man City XI: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Lewis; Rodri, De Bruyne, Bernardo; Foden, Alvarez, Haaland

Pep Guardiola claims it is inevitable standards will drop at Manchester City following last season’s treble success.

The City boss accepts it is unlikely his team will be able to match the intensity that saw them pick up the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies last term as a new campaign begins.

The Spaniard wants to make sure City pace their challenge for further silverware and is not even thinking about an end goal yet.

City will begin the 2023-24 campaign as favourites in all competitions but Guardiola is not expecting a repeat of last term, when his side claimed Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup success.

“It feels like it finished yesterday but we start again,” said the City manager, whose side travel to Burnley for their Premier League opener on Friday.

If the Premier League is to become a title race between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta once again, it will not be the only way they stand apart. They are two of the only people in the competition who seem to think anyone other than Manchester City can win the title. Even Guardiola’s opinions on that have to be viewed with some caution, however, given the performative humility he occasionally displays.

A tight title race certainly isn’t what the Catalan expects from his City players on the eve of the season. Guardiola is demanding more perfection.

Some of the other public comments on the issue from Jurgen Klopp and Erik ten Hag are similarly for the benefit of their own squad, but it should still be notable for the Premier League that the managers of its two biggest clubs are now so open about how closed off the title is.