Manchester City will be looking to return to winning ways against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
After having being knocked out of the Carabao Cup after their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Pep Guardiola will be hoping for his City side to bounce back like top teams do.
Bournemouth have won and lost two games apiece while drawing one in their last five outings in the Premier League.
Andoni Iraola’s side currently sit in 11th place in the league table as they host table-toppers Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium.
Pep Guardiola recent admitted via Manchester City’s official website that his “main target” was the game against the Cherries including other games rather than their latest contest against Spurs.
“Of course, we will go there [the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] to compete but the main target is Bournemouth, Sporting and Brighton before the international break, this is the focus.”
Alan Shearer predicts Man City to beat Bournemouth
The Manchester City boss has made it publicly clear how much he wishes to get a result against Bournemouth.
So far, City have won three out of their four away games in the league this season — drawing to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
Alan Shearer has claimed that he expects Manchester City to get over the line against Bournemouth.
Shearer wrote for The Metro: “Man City will have enough to go there and win this game despite the small disappointment of losing at Spurs in midweek.”
“Bournemouth secured a good result last week at Villa and fought really well for it, but I’d expect Man City to take the points in this one.”
The last time both sides met at the Vitality Stadium was in February, when the visitors only narrowly came out on top with a 1-0 win, thanks to a winning goal from Phil Foden in the first half.
In September, Manuel Akanji predicted Manchester City to win the league title and for his claim to manifest itself in May, his side will have to get over the line in such difficult games.
Man City vs Bournemouth head-to-head record
On paper, Andoni Iraola’s side would not be expected to even get a result against the Premier League winners.
However, Iraola has managed to mastermind results in their 1-1 draw to Aston Villa, 2-0 win against Arsenal and 1-1 draw against Newcastle.
Manchester City will be aware of the dangerous that the hosts pose ahead of their trip to South West of England. Here is how the results fared in both sides’ previous five league meetings.
| SEASON | SCORE | MAN CITY | BOURNEMOUTH |
| 2023/2024 | 0-1 | WIN | LOSS |
| 2023/2024 | 6-1 | WIN | LOSS |
| 2022/2023 | 1-4 | WIN | LOSS |
| 2022/2023 | 4-0 | WIN | LOSS |
| 2019/2020 | 2-1 | WIN | LOSS |
It is clear to see that City fancy themselves when facing Bournemouth.
However, Andoni Iraola has built a side that is capable of producing an upset, as Manchester City will be up against it as their squad remains injury-ravaged and they will be away from home.
