Manchester City will begin their next Premier League campaign with an away clash against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley at Turf Moor on Friday August 11.
In terms of what changes have taken place in the Citizens’ squad so far in this summer transfer window, Ilkay Gundogan has waved goodbye to the club and joined Barcelona as a free agent.
As well as that, the Manchester club have acquired the services of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea on a four-year deal worth £30m.
Other names that City have been linked with include RB Leipzig defender, Josko Gvardiol, who has reportedly agreed personal terms with the club over a potential move, as well as Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at what we think Pep Guardiola’s starting XI could be for the match against Burnley in the opening fixture of the 2023/24 season.
City predicted starting XI vs Burnley
In goal, it would surprise no one to see Ederson start in goal following his efforts in the Champions League final against Inter Milan where he kept a clean sheet and made five saves in total.
Ahead of the Brazilian, we predict that Manuel Akanji will line up with Ruben Dias and John Stones, in addition to Gvardiol, should the Croatian end up joining the club this summer.
For the midfield, it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see Rodri, who scored the winning goal against Inter in Istanbul, feature next to his new teammate Kovacic.
Then, with a recent report claiming that Kevin De Bruyne may not be fit enough for this match as a result of the hamstring tear he suffered in the Champions League final, we think this could lead to Veiga making his first top-flight appearance should he, like Gvardiol, end up signing this summer.
Moving into the attack, we can see Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva lining up on either side of Erling Haaland, who will have a tough task on his hands to replicate the stunning goalscoring form he delivered last season, finding the net 52 times in 53 appearances.
