Burnley are examining Scott Parker’s future with the club and Steven Gerrard has emerged as one of the names under consideration. The Clarets’ recent record highlights the gap between the divisions: Burnley shipped just 16 goals in 46 Championship games but conceded 17 in their first nine Premier League outings.

Parker’s record in the second tier remains strong. Despite his struggles in the top flight, he has won three promotions with three different clubs in six years, a track record that some argue makes him well suited to restore Burnley to the Premier League. Club owner Alan Pace is set to hold discussions with Parker over his future and, should a replacement be required, Gerrard’s name has been floated by The Guardian. Craig Bellamy is also mentioned as a potential candidate; he served as Vincent Kompany’s assistant while at Turf Moor, though it is unclear whether he would leave his current post. Gerrard, by contrast, is demonstrably unattached.

Bristol City have gone further in their interest, offering Gerrard a permanent role before the season has finished, according to The Independent. The Robins appointed Roy Hodgson on a short-term basis to oversee the final seven games; the 78-year-old has taken six points from his first half-dozen fixtures and moved Bristol City into mid-table ahead of the season-ender against Stoke City.

Former manager Gerhard Struber has spoken of a muddled infrastructure at the club. Bristol City are closing in on appointing James Ellis as sporting director; his immediate task may be persuading Gerrard to accept the brief before any extensive squad changes. As ex-Robins midfielder Gary Owers fretted earlier this season: “For City to progress it could be a total rebuild in the summer.”

Burnley present a different proposition. They will benefit from parachute payments and already have experienced Championship operators, leaving arguably less work to return to the top flight.

Gerrard’s managerial timeline is recent and public: Rangers (July 1, 2018–Nov. 10, 2021, 192 games), Aston Villa (Nov. 11, 2021–Oct. 20, 2022, 40 games) and Al Ettifaq (July 3, 2023–Jan. 30, 2025, 55 games). It has been 15 months since he left Al Ettifaq. He took nine months to move to the Kingdom after parting ways with Aston Villa in October 2022, which remains his last and only experience of Premier League (or English) management. Patience is no issue for the 45-year-old.

“There’s a part of me that still feels that there’s a bit of unfinished business in terms of wanting to go in and face another couple of exciting challenges,” Gerrard told Rio Ferdinand on his self-titled podcast earlier this season. “But I want a certain type of challenge.

“If in an ideal world they come available, I’ll jump at them. If they don’t, I won’t go back in. I want to be at a team that’s going to compete to win because I think that suits me better.”

Erling Haaland’s fifth-minute finish proved decisive as Manchester City beat Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor to move to the top of the Premier League. City dominated territory and chances from the first whistle but rarely found the clinical edge to match their control.

City fired 13 shots in the first half and 28 in total, yet managed only nine on target and a single goal. The visitors could have been four up by the break but were wasteful in the final third, finishing with three big chances compared to Burnley’s two. Burnley were not without threat. They fashioned five meaningful opportunities down the left, frequently exploiting an overwhelmed and disconnected Matheus Nunes on the right. Donnarumma produced a solid performance to deny the hosts from turning the game, while Burnley goalkeeper Dúbravka made several key saves that kept the scoreline narrow.

The win added to the momentum from City’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the weekend and sets up a quick turnaround for the FA Cup semifinal against Southampton on Saturday. Despite the points, the manner of the victory highlighted two issues: finishing in the final third and occasional defensive vulnerability, particularly on the right in the first half.

Player ratings

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma—7.8: Did everything he needed to do, despite facing more shots than he should have on Wednesday.
RB: Matheus Nunes—7.8: Burned twice on his side by Burnley within the first six minutes, giving the hosts two early opportunities on frame. Completely disconnected from Abdukodir Khusanov.
CB: Abdukodir Khusanov—8.1: Hard to blame him for Nunes’s shortcomings, but his side was the only source of respite for Burnley for a reason. Did have a key, sliding recovery on a dangerous breakaway in the 30th minute.
CB: Marc Guéhi—7.5: Did well to recover from the discombobulation of Nunes and Khusanov.
LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri—7.4: Solid performance on the left side. Completely closed off that channel for Loum Tchaouna.
CM: Nico O’Reilly—7.2: Enjoyed a rare start, but was the key to building the attack and maintaining a steady, yet relentless tempo.
CM: Bernardo Silva—8.6: Brilliant connections with Doku all night long. Solid as always.
RM: Antoine Semenyo—6.8: Explosive and strategic with his runs off the ball. Key to getting them in the final third. Burned Quilindschy Hartman and Maxime Estève all night, often at the same time.
AM: Rayan Cherki—8.5: Pushed extremely high in attack, creating constant pressure in the final third in partnership with Haaland to overwhelm the center backs. Created four opportunities within the first 25 minutes. Simultaneously patient on the ball.
LM: Jérémy Doku—8.2: Responsible for the creation of Haaland’s early goal. Controlled a bouncing ball at the midline before sending the striker off to the races. Incredibly challenging for Burnley to track all over the final third.
ST: Erling Haaland—8.3: Had a brilliant run to go one-on-one with Dúbravka and chipped the ball to side netting for his 23rd league goal of the season. Stellar.

Subs: Savinho (65’ for Semenyo)—6.7; Nico González (65’ for Aït-Nouri)—7.0. Subs not used: James Trafford, John Stones, Nathan Aké, Mateo Kovacic, Phil Foden, Tijjani Reijnders, Omar Marmoush.

Key match stats: Possession 65% to 35%. Expected goals 3.15 to 0.57. Total shots 28 to 9. Shots on target 9 to 1. Big chances 3 to 2. Pass accuracy 90% to 79%. Fouls 12 to 10.

Gameweek 33 brings both headaches and opportunities for FPL managers as several teams play twice. The double fixtures make prioritising players from the right squads crucial, with Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds United and Manchester City all on double duty.

Goalkeepers
Karl Darlow (£3.9m) stands out because of his low price and fixtures against Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) and Bournemouth (A). He has scored 16 points across his last three fixtures and looks nailed on for the remainder of the season. Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.6m) also offers two fixtures, Arsenal (H) and Burnley (A), but his inclusion uses one of three Man City slots managers may prefer to spend on midfield and forward assets. Đorđe Petrović (£4.6m) is a Bournemouth alternative after three clean sheets in his last six outings versus Newcastle United (A) and Leeds (H).

Defenders
Bournemouth defenders Marcos Senesi (£5.2m) and James Hill (£4.2m) present clean sheet potential and solid defensive contribution totals, while Adrien Truffert (£4.7m) provides more attacking upside via assists. Leeds options Pascal Struijk (£4.3m), Jayden Bogle (£4.4m) and Gabriel Gudmundsson (£3.8m) offer differing mixes of defensive reliability and attacking threat. Marc Cucurella (£6.0m) is the main Chelsea defender to consider despite matches with Manchester United (H) and Brighton (A) being tough for clean sheets. Nico O’Reilly (£5.0m) would be an obvious pick after a 14-point weekend and 52 points in six gameweeks, but he is an injury concern; Marc Guéhi (£5.1m) is a viable alternative if O’Reilly is ruled out.

Midfield and attack
Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m) remains an attractive midfield option despite high ownership. Rayan Cherki (£6.3m) offers a differential and Jérémy Doku (£6.4m) provides explosive potential. Cole Palmer (£10.5m) will start both Chelsea games and is on spot kicks. Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) is notable for set-piece and penalty responsibility versus Rayan (£5.5m) and Alex Scott (£5.0m). Pascal Groß (£5.5m) and Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m) could be short-term Brighton values.

Forwards
Erling Haaland (£14.4m) is the obvious captaincy candidate across two fixtures, with particular promise in the Burnley match. João Pedro (£7.7m) is a reliable pick given Chelsea’s double and his 82 points since Liam Rosenior took charge; he faces little competition for his starting role.