Treble winner Man City visits newly promoted Championship winner Burnley for the EPL opener. Their last meeting in the FA Cup quarterfinals in March was a humbling return for Burnley manager and longtime Man City star Kompany as they were dominated 6-0. Burnley still has no answer on the back end for Haaland and Alvarez, who scored 3 and 2 times each in that game and are likely starters for this rematch. City used a rotation squad for that game and might for this fixture as well, as the Super Cup match against Sevilla is on the 16th. That should not prevent Guardiola’s side from continuing their dominant run of form against the Clarets. Many City is 15-1-0 in their last 16 against Burnley. In their last 11 against Burnley Man City has scored five or more goals five times, outscoring them 40-1 over that span. Burnley’s last goal against City was in Dec. 2019.

Even with some solid additions that should prevent relegation, Burnley doesn’t match up well against City. Last season’s leading scorer Tella is back at Southhampton and his replacement Amdouni may take a while to gel with his new squad.

Kovacic should ably replace Gundogan in the City midfield and Ake and De Bruyne should be available for selection.

Laying the goals and going with City is a solid choice to get you into the new season on the right foot (pun intended).