Bournemouth vs Man City tips and predictions: Cherries can end visitor's bullish head-to-head run
- George Dempsey
- 22 February 2024
Bournemouth will look to avoid another hammering at the hands of Manchester City when they meet in the Premier League on Saturday evening (1730 GMT).
There’s no such thing as a foregone conclusion when two Premier League teams meet, but Bournemouth fans must fear the worst when they see Man City on the fixture list.
It’s been 25 years since the Cherries plucked a point from City, embarking on an 18-match winless run and losing each of their last 14 meetings.
Still, Andoni Iraola was only in the dugout for one of those matches, and City have rarely been as wasteful as in recent times, so hope springs eternal.
The hosts took their time to click but played some dazzling football in a run that saw them pick up 22 points from a possible 29, recording wins over Man Utd and Newcastle.
Their return to poorer form has coincided with a run of fixtures against in-form sides, so it begs the question were they benefitting from a stretch of games against out-of-sorts sides?
Liverpool recently put four past them on home soil and Man City did thump them 6-1 at the beginning of that nine-game run.
Despite their embarrassment of footballing riches, we don’t see Pep Guardiola’s side obliterate teams like they used to, especially on their travels.
We’ve seen plenty of close fixtures between these sides and this is the most impressive Bournemouth we’ve ever seen. They’re certainly capable of scoring at least one goal.
At the risk of being left with egg on our face, we suspect the hosts can make a game of this and present enough of a threat on the break to keep the score close.
Team news
James Hill, Philip Billing, Tyler Adams, Ryan Fredericks and Max Aarons are ruled out for the hosts while Romain Favre is 50/50 after suffering from illness.
Joskvo Gvardiol and Jack Grealish are unavailable but Guardiola has an otherwise fully fit squad to pick from.
Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland have been fully re-integrated after recent injuries and both are expected to start.
Key stats
- Bournemouth are winless in six Premier League matches since Boxing Day
- Bournemouth’s last point against City was in a 0-0 draw in Division 2 in 1999
- Dominic Solanke has scored 10 in his last 13 Premier League matches
- Man City are unbeaten in 18 meetings and have won the last 14
- The last three meetings have finished 6-1, 1-4 and 4-0 to the Citizens
- Phil Foden has scored four in four against Bournemouth
