Manchester City will continue their pursuit of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table in their trip to Bournemouth on Saturday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side will have played the same number of league games as Jurgen Klopp’s outfit by the time this match is over and will sit only one point behind the Reds if they get all three points on the south coast.
Bournemouth’s form in 2024 has left a huge amount to be desired and while there is a deservedly positive feeling around their season, it will take a special performance if the Cherries are to stop the current champions from winning at the Vitality Stadium this weekend.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Man City’s trip to Bournemouth.
|
Bournemouth |
Man City |
|---|---|
|
Bournemouth 5-0 Swansea – 25/01/24 |
Brentford 1-3 Man City – 05/02/24 |
|
West Ham 1-1 Bournemouth – 01/02/24 |
Man City 2-0 Everton – 10/02/24 |
|
Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest – 04/02/24 |
Copenhagen 1-3 Man City – 13/02/24 |
|
Fulham 3-1 Bournemouth – 10/02/24 |
Man City 1-1 Chelsea – 17/02/24 |
|
Newcastle 2-2 Bournemouth – 17/02/24 |
Man City 1-0 Brentford – 20/02/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Ultra HD, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, BBC Radio 5 Live, SKY GO Extra |
|
United States |
SiriusXM FC, UNIVERSO, Peacock, UNIVERSO NOW, NBC, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Philip Billing, who has scored in wins over Burnley and Manchester United this season, will miss out through suspension. However, a number of other Bournemouth squad members are close to returning from injury.
Tyler Adams, Ryan Fredericks, Romain Faivre, Max Aarons and James Hill may all recover in time to play, but it’ll be touch and go right up until kick-off.
Bournemouth predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Cook, Christie; Tavernier, Kluivert, Semenyo; Solanke.
Kevin De Bruyne was left out of the midweek win against Brentford, with Guardiola revealing ‘niggles’ with his hamstring forced the decision.
It remains to be seen if that rest will be enough for the playmaker to start here, while Jack Grealish also needs more time on the sidelines. Versatile defender Josko Gvardiol is also absent.
Man City predicted lineup vs Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji; Rodri, Silva; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland.
It may have proved a bit tougher than expected for Man City to beat Brentford but the reigning champions got the points they needed and are the overwhelming favourites to claim another win, this time at the Vitality Stadium.
Even if De Bruyne misses out, City have other supremely talented attacking players to replace him with and Bournemouth won’t be able to deal with it, especially given the lack of confidence they have right now.
