Manchester City will try to stay top of the Premier League table when they travel to the south coast to take on AFC Bournemouth this afternoon.
Pep Guardiola’s men are going for an unprecedented fifth title in a row and have racked up seven wins and two draws from their nine league games so far to sit top of the early pile.
But they will be aware that Bournemouth put a serious dent in title rivals Arsenal with an impressive 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium just a fortnight ago and with injuries mounting, they could be ripe for the Cherries to pick off this afternoon.
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AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Walker gives the ball away in midfield, allowing Kluivert to split the Manchester City defence with a pass through the lines for Evanilson, but Ederson is quick off his line to meet the bal at the edge of his penalty area.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Manchester City also make three changes from the team they last fielded in the Premier League, beating Southampton 1-0 on October 26. Walker returns to fitness to replace Lewis at right-back, but an injury to Ruben Dias necessitates the inclusion of Ake at centre-back. Gundogan is also brought back into the starting line-up in Savinho’s spot, pushing Silva out to the wing.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Bournemouth make three alterations to the XI that drew 1-1 with Aston Villa last weekend. Smith is preferred to Araujo at right-back, while an injury to Dango Ouattara sees Tavernier fill the gap on the right wing. The final swap is in attack, where Unal is dropped for Evanilson, whose late goal salvaged a point last time out.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
MANCHESTER CITY SUBS: Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Stefan Ortega, Savinho, Jacob Wright, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Nico O’Reilly, Rico Lewis, James McAtee.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
MANCHESTER CITY XI (4-1-4-1): Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Kyle Walker; Mateo Kovacic; Matheus Nunes, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva; Erling Haaland.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
BOURNEMOUTH SUBS: Dean Huijsen, David Brooks, Tyler Adams, Julian Araujo, James Hill, Enes Unal, Philip Billing, Max Aarons, Will Dennis.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
BOURNEMOUTH XI (4-2-3-1): Mark Travers; Milos Kerkez, Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi, Adam Smith; Ryan Christie, Lewis Cook; Marcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo; Evanilson.
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how the two sides are lining up – starting with our hosts!
AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Manchester City travel to the South Coast looking to avenge their 2-1 loss to Tottenham in the League Cup on Thursday; their first of the campaign in any competition. An impressive nine matches without defeat to begin the year in the Premier League however, sees Pep Guardiola’s side once again set the pace at the top with 23 points, one ahead of Liverpool who play Brighton concurrently. Phil Foden has been the key man each of the last four times Manchester City has met Bournemouth in league play, scoring once in each match (including the lone strike in a 1-0 win) as well as providing two assists.
