These challenges are there for you to take
League leaders Manchester City are our opponents tomorrow which will give their manager Pep Guardiola his second visit to Turf Moor since taking over at the Etihad Stadium.
He said of us: “They gave a good performance in the FA Cup,” and of his last visit to Turf Moor he added: “We won but it was one of the toughest games we played last season.”
“They are so good; we have to avoid as much as possible this kind of game and to play our game and make another step.”
Sean Dyche must have spent most of the week counting numbers but he’s looking forward to a home game that’s even tougher than the last three against Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester United.
“It’s another chance for us to take on one of the super-powers of the league,” Dyche said. “We have done well against them over the season.
“Manchester City are the best side, I think, this season and they have shown that, quite obviously. I think everyone agrees. They are a very powerful side, both home and away, but that’s what we love about football. We’ve seen it at Burnley and outside of Burnley. These challenges are there for you to take and we want the team to take on the challenge.
“I thought we were very good against Manchester United, at home and away. We had a really good go at these in the FA Cup, certainly for 60-65 minutes. We want to take on these games. Although they are hard games, I think it’s terrific for these teams to be visiting Turf Moor, for our fans to see them and, more importantly, see their own side challenge these teams like we have done.”
He added: “It’s a double-edged sword for us. In the shorter run of eight games that we haven’t had a win, we’ve equally had some very good points on the board away from home in that run, against some top sides. We’ve got 18 points away from home and we only got seven in a whole season last time, so that’s a big positive marker.
“Our home form remains very strong. We’ve had a couple of last-minute goals go against us within that run and a couple of big decisions.
“Like every manager, there will be a story behind the story, but, it remains a fact, we haven’t had a win in eight and we’ve got to correct that. And that’s our job.”
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