Manchester City have been frustrated in NHL jerseys the Premier League of late, drawing four consecutive matches, but they should resume winning ways against Burnley on Saturday.
City, around the 1.35 mark in the various match odds markets, look attractively priced at 1.98 with Ladbrokes to defy a 1.50 Asian handicap and Burnley appear there for the taking.
While four points from as many games will have proved disappointing for Mark Hughes and his team, they were lucky not to be beaten at Birmingham City last time out, only their 2-2 stalemate versus Fulham came on home soil and City are fancied to pick up the maximum back in front of their own fans.
The goalless draw at St Andrews on Sunday followed being held at Villa Park and against Wigan at the DW Stadium but the men from Eastlands are clearly much happier when playing the host and travelsick Burnley will be fearing the worst.
Conceding five at White Hart Lane, four at Anfield and three at Stamford Bridge, all without scoring themselves, doesn’t bode well for Owen Coyle’s men and it is only Burnley’s home form that is keeping them clear of the relegation zone at present.
A brace from Graham Alexander on the weekend gave them yet another three points at Turf Moor, this time at the expense of Hull City, but Saturday’s opponents are a different proposition altogether and Burnley have only scored twice on their travels all season long.
With Hughes now able to call upon the fit again Roque Santa Cruz if required, the Welshman has an enviable array of attacking options at his disposal and providing the excellent Shay Given isn’t picking the ball out of his net then the home side should have too much firepower to cover the handicap with ease.
The one concern heading into this weekend’s fixture is City’s inability to find an early breakthrough more often than not this season but we saw against Scunthorpe in the Carling Cup, when triumphing 5-1, what they can do when in the mood and Burnley were beaten at Barnsley on their travels earlier in the campaign.
While admittedly that was in the Carling Cup, Burnley’s away performances have been well below the required standard and the previously unflappable Brian Jensen now looks vulnerable in goal. The Clarets were outplayed by Wigan, on home soil, two outings ago and their triumph over Hull did little to dissuade me that they simply aren’t very good.
Hull are atrocious and the step up in class is tipped to be far too much for Burnley to cope with.
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