Here we go then. The Burnley players are out first, followed soon after by the City lads. As against Arsenal, the empty seats of the Etihad are masked by huge banners.

Stephen Warnock
Ex-Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

I don't think it is a surprise Joe Hart is being let go.

Joe will be on good money and was the right player to come in at the time with the experience but it has not worked out.

I feel sorry for him, when he got replaced Burnley started winning and he will be looking for a fresh start and new challenge.

Does he go abroad? We will see, he is still a fantastic goalkeeper.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at the Etihad Stadium

Lots of talk about Burnley's team selection and lack of substitutes.

However, earlier in the lockdown, the club admitted COVID-19 would cost them millions.

They are in no danger of going down and the players missing are experienced professionals on decent money.

Sean Dyche might be uncomfortable with it but isn't this just financial sense on the Clarets part?

Image source, Getty Images

Should Burnley pull off the unexpected and win tonight they will move up at least one place in the table, possibly even two, going level on points with... hang on, when did Palace get into the European qualification mix?!

Yes, Roy Hodgson's lads have done a sterling job, winning four on the bounce (including a solid victory at an awful Bournemouth first game back after lockdown) to move up to ninth, four points behind fifth-placed Manchester United.

I'm all for a Palace Europa League campaign. Roy's managerial career was forged in Europe. Be good to give him another stab at it before he calls it quits.

It is all over at Exeter in the first League Two play-off semi-final and the home side are on their way to Wembley.

Ryan Bowman's extra-time winner settles the tie 3-2.

For reaction, head here.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at the Etihad Stadium

No fans but plenty of noise at the Etihad Stadium tonight.

The music is being pumped out at full volume - and it seems even louder because there is no-one in the stadium.

That City bench. My word.

Walker, Sterling, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Jesus, Laporte, Sane, Mendy. And with Scott Carson thrown in for good measure. Wow.

Image source, Rex Features

The reason tonight's game is not quite as pivotal as it could have been to the league title is because of the goalless draw in yesterday's Everton-Liverpool game.

I'm going to be far more polite and generous to the game than I was with people on WhatsApp last night, but I think it would be right to say it won't go down as a classic Merseyside derby. Both sides looked rustier than the Tin Man's armpits, to be fair.

Our chief footballer writer Phil McNulty was there (wearing a face mask that makes him look like Bane) and had this to say about the tepid affair...

"The 202nd league meeting of these great rivals was the first played in such reduced circumstances and was a suitably surreal occasion lacking the passion and noise that is an integral part of these fixtures."

You can read more from Phil here.

Image source, Getty Images

So, how you feeling about the return of the Premier League now we've got the first weekend under our belt?

Odd, yes. Bit stale at times, which is to be expected. Are you still pumped by the simple fact that it's back? Or have some of the, shall we say, somewhat slow games we've witnessed taken the gloss off a bit?

For what it's worth, I do believe it will only get better from here on in as teams get more up to speed. City's display tonight will be an interesting barometer.

Mark Lawrenson
Ex-Liverpool defender

Liverpool will be champions if they beat Everton and City lose this game - but I think they might have to keep the champagne on ice a little bit longer.

This will be Burnley's first game back and Sean Dyche's side are the one team who might buck the trend and be at it straight away - being competitive, and tackling.

But City have the massive advantage of having played once already, on top of the fact they are a much better team of course.

Burnley might still be full of running, harassing and chasing - but only for 70 minutes, not for 90.

Prediction: 3-0

Lawro's full predictions against Sports Team drummer Al Greenwood

Image source, Getty Images

What about the Clarets' pre-lockdown form? Any crumbs of comfort there? Well, yes actually.

They are unbeaten in their last seven league games, their longest run since an eight-game streak 13 months ago.

They also made a successful trip to Manchester earlier in the season, coming away from Old Trafford with a 2-0 win back in January.

But no sooner have I given them a little sweetener, I'm going to stick the knife in again sadly...

Image source, Getty Images

Let's give Burnley their fair due here. As anyone who watches Premier League football will tell you, they are no pushover.

So let's deal purely in the facts and how damning these might be to the Clarets' chances of pulling off a win tonight...

Well, for starters, Burnley's only win in the past 23 meetings in all competitions was 1-0 at home in the league in March 2015. They've lost 16 of those games.

Manchester City have won all five home games against Burnley under Pep Guardiola in league and cup, scoring 19 goals and conceding just two.

The Clarets are winless in 15 away league visits to Manchester City since a 5-2 victory in March 1963. Their last two visits? Both ended 5-0.

So Sean Dyche's men are off to an optimistic start.

In case you are wondering who some of these young lads are on Burnley's bench...

Max Thompson is an 18-year-old forward, Jimmy Dunne is a 22-year-old centre-back, Bobby Thomas another young centre-back and Lukas Jensen a 21-year-old goalkeeper. In fact, the Dane is the second keeper on that bench with Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Northern Ireland's international keeper who signed from Leeds last summer.

If you're after a bit of tense football to act as a starter to this game, you could do a lot worse than heading over to our League Two play-off semi-final text commentary.

It is currently into extra-time between Exeter and Colchester. Two apiece. Fans or no fans, the players will be feeling it.

Image source, BBC Sport

Manchester City make eight changes from the team that beat Arsenal last week in their first game since the Premier League restarted, including their entire back four.

Sergio Aguero returns up front and Ederson, David Silva and Riyad Mahrez are the only survivors from the side that started the Gunners game.

Among the City subsitutes is Leroy Sane, who has not featured for City since sustaining a knee ligament injury in the Community Shield in August.

City boss Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday that Sane, a target of Bayern Munich, will be leaving the club either in the next transfer window or when his contract ends in the summer of 2021.

Man City XI: Ederson, Cancelo, Fernandinho, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Silva, Rodri, Foden, Bernardo, Aguero, Mahrez

Image source, BBC Sport

Burnley are without injured first-choice strikers Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes, while Phil Bardsley and Jeff Hendrick, both out of contract this summer, do not make the squad.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart and Aaron Lennon, whose deals also expire at the end of June, are also left out completely as Burnley boss Sean Dyche elects to name only seven of his permitted nine substitutes.

Midfielder Josh Brownhill comes in to make his full Premier League debut for the Clarets, with youngsters Max Thompson and Bobby Thomas and two goalkeepers - Lukas Jensen and Bailey Peacock-Farrell - on the bench.

Burnley XI: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Brownhill, Westwood, Cork, McNeill, Rodriguez, Vydra

There have been reports that Aaron Lennon has rejected the offer of a deal at Burnley, so we may well have seen the last of him in a Clarets shirt. Have we also seen the last of Jeff Hendrick and Phil Bardsley?

Midfielder Hendrick would be a big loss. The £10m signing from Derby has made 27 appearances this season in the league, scoring three times.

Pat Nevin
Former Chelsea and Scotland winger on BBC Radio 5 Live

Pep Guardiola is going to have to change it, they have four games in a row - the FA Cup game against Newcastle is most important to them and I am not surprised by the changes, the league is gone.

Kevin de Bruyne was a genius against Arsenal and people were gutted he was coming off. It was not about tiredness, it was about keeping the freshness and the right players being fit for the right games.

Phil Foden starts tonight and I am so happy about that, he was fantastic against Arsenal. They should have enough to beat Burnley but it might give the Clarets fans a lift.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport at the Etihad Stadium

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has just done his pre-match TV interview by the side of the pitch.

It is quite an unfamiliar line-up for the Clarets tonight with so many experienced players out of contract.

They haven't beaten Manchester City in a league match away from home since 1963.

It would be a big shock if that sequence was broken tonight.

Image source, BBC Sport

The Premier League have just released their latest breakdown of coronavirus testing and have revealed that between Wednesday June 17 and Sunday June 21, 1829 players and club staff were tested. Of these, one person has tested positive.

In line with protocol, the player or club staff who has tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.

You'll forgive Sean Dyche more than a little frustration. Injuries happen to every side, but he is also having to cope without Jeff Hendrick, Phil Bardsley, Aaron Lennion and Joe Hart because they are out of contract at the end of this month and an extension has not been agreed with any of them.

And you wouldn't describe Burnley's squad as vast to begin with.

Tonight's task just got even harder.