Pep Guardiola picked out five players who were crucial as Manchester City pulled off an important win at Burnley last season .
And, as the Blues prepare for another trip to Turf Moor – and another tough quest for three points – it was noticeable that three are unavailable and the other two are not certain to play.
Guardiola last season described going to Burnley as “a trip to the dentist”, meaning it is never enjoyable – and the prospect of going there on a grim Tuesday night, in sub-zero temperatures is even less appealing.
The manager was asked why the very mention of a trip to Burnley brings him pain, and Guardiola said: “It is always difficult for all the teams. They play, what they do they do perfectly.
“They play quick with (Ashley) Barnes and (Chris) Wood and arrive quick in the sides. They are so good in the second balls and are free kick scorers so we need to adapt and play our way.”
Last season, needing to win to stay ahead of Liverpool’s hot pursuit, City survived a typically hard-working Clarets performance and snatched the win when Sergio Aguero’s prodded shot was seen to be three centimetres over the goal-line.
Guardiola put that down to the performance of his centre backs Vincent Kompany and Aymeric Laporte, and also mentioned the control which the diminutive trio of David Silva, Ilkay Gudnogan and Bernardo Silva gave them in midfield.
But Kompany has left, Laporte is injured, Gubdogan suspended, David Silva struggling to play twice in a few days and Bernardo has not nailed down a place this season.
And with last season's Turf Moor goalscorer Sergio Aguero also missing, through injury, City will bear little resemblance to that team.
“In this game it was like this but in this game we controlled all the game perfectly,” said Guardiola. “We didn’t concede one corner with players like Gundogan, David Silva and Bernardo Silva in the middle.
“We were so clever and Vincent (Kompany) and (Aymeric) Laporte were outstanding, but also we won for this detail.”
Burnley will be relishing the prospect of setting about a City team which has won just one of its last five games.
Their style of football is almost opposite to Guardiola’s own philosophy, but he still has an admiration for the way Sean Dyche extracts the maximum out of limited resources.
“What Sean Dyche teams play, the way he plays, they do it perfectly,” he said.
“So they have had incredible success in the last years in the Premier League doing what they have done. They attack really well and in defence they are so aggressive.”
