'You have to relish these games' - Wood insists Burnley head to Man City ......

'You have to relish these games' - Wood insists Burnley head to Man City with confidence

Sean Dyche's side face a daunting trip to Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday

Burnley striker Chris Wood says his side do not fear Manchester City as they prepare to take on Pep Guardiola’s free-scoring side in the FA Cup.

After losing back-to-back league games over Christmas the Premier League champions have bounced back in fine style, winning seven successive matches in all competitions.

That includes a 7-0 victory in the FA Cup third round against Rotherham and a 10-0 aggregate win over Burton in the EFL Cup semi-final.

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Guardiola’s side have scored 28 goals on that run – only two less than Burnley have managed in all competitions all season.

Despite City’s imperious form Wood, who has three goals in his last five matches, insists the Clarets head to Etihad Stadium confident of pulling off a shock victory.

“There’s never a free hit in these games. There’s always a chance, it’s the cup, they’ll make changes, we’ll make a few changes but we’ll go out there to win the game,” Wood told the Burnley Express.

“We know they’re a quality side and they can do that to anybody. They can do it to a Premier League side, score six or seven past them.

“It doesn’t matter that they’ve scored so many goals, we’ve just got to try and nullify their strengths and capitalise on their weaknesses.”

Burnley were among a number of Premier League sides who rested key players in the third round, with manager Sean Dyche making eight changes to the side for their 1-0 win over Barnsley.

Wood denies that the FA Cup has been diminished as a result, insisting that the team will be desperate to win regardless of the side picked by Dyche.


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“You have to relish these games,” added the New Zealand international. “These are the ties you want to play in. They’re the best games in the world and they’re what you dream of as a kid. You have to relish them, enjoy them and have fun. We’ll see where that gets us.

“It’s always good and you always want to keep the dream going. A few of the boys have been to the final but never won it. Hopefully one day a few of us boys can get there with this team, which would be lovely.”