LIVE: Manchester City v Burnley

The title-winning Spaniard spoke of his respect and admiration for the Clarets chief, who has steered the visitors to a sixth successive season in the Premier League.

Burnley are without a win in 10 games in the top flight and currently shackled to the division's bottom three.

However, they've been down in the doldrums before and Guardiola wouldn't be shocked to see today's opponents prize themselves free once again.

Addressing Burnley's persistence, perseverance and tenacity, the City boss said: “Only I can assure you, Burnley was in this position many times and always survived.

"Why? Because they never give up. That's why Sean Dyche is an excellent manager.

“He plays in a certain way and is a machine in how he does it. I am a big fan. He sticks to his principles.

"That's why they stay up a long time and he gets a new contract I think three or four more years. They never give up."

The ex-Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “They go to Anfield and are able to win, Emirates and are able to win.

"They have heart, passion and character that I’m sure Sean and the staff bring to the players. This is most important

“Some teams start to go down, they go definitely down. They [Burnley] don’t, they stay and fight. Maybe we had good results against them because I was careful. I pay a lot of attention to their skills.

“This is the message I give to the players today and hopefully they understand.”