In the past season, “Burnley” performed excellently in the Championship and comfortably secured their return to the Premier League. A significant contribution to this success was made by the head coach Vincent Kompany, who today is set to play against the team where he spent his best years as a player. It’s worth noting that in the previous season, the “Clarets” lost only three times in 46 matches in the second most significant English division and collected 101 points. Interestingly, only “Leicester” achieved such a confident result in the Championship in the 2013/14 season back then, the “Foxes” earned 102 points. During the offseason, “Burnley,” not having significant financial resources, managed to strengthen their squad. Forward Zeq Amdouni joined from “Basel,” and defender Jordan Beyer from Borussia M?nchengladbach. In the preparation period for the season, “Burnley” didn’t perform too convincingly in friendly matches they recorded one victory, two defeats, and one draw. Notably, they managed to win against “Benfica” (2:0).
Manchester City was unstoppable in the past season. Besides winning the championship and the English Cup, Pep Guardiola’s team triumphed in the Champions League. In the Premier League, luck was on their side to some extent, as “Arsenal” led for a long time, but the “Gunners” noticeably slowed down towards the finish line. The new season for the “Citizens” began with a match against their rival from the previous championship. In the Super Cup game at Wembley on August 6th, Manchester City couldn’t hold onto their one-goal lead, and in the penalty shootout, “Arsenal” proved to be more accurate. After the match, Guardiola was disappointed but acknowledged the opponent’s merits. During the summer, there were some changes within the ranks of “Manchester City.” Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez left the club. In their place, the team acquired midfielder Mateo Kovacic from “Chelsea” and defender Josko Guardiol from “RB Leipzig.” It’s worth noting the return of defender Joao Cancelo from his loan. During the summer, “Manchester City” didn’t play many friendly matches. They only played three games victories against “Yokohama Marinos” (5:3) and “Bayern” (2:1), and a defeat to “Atletico” (1:2).
