The away side travel to the Vitality Stadium looking for a ninth straight win over the Cherries in the Premier League, having dropped points last week
Manchester City will be looking to pick up the pace at the top end of the Premier League table with a return to winning ways at Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth.
Last weekend’s handball controversy against Tottenham put a dent in City’s momentum but their overall performances in their opening games have been ominous for their title rivals.
The Cherries’ record against the top six is poor and they will be hopeful of snapping an unwanted streak of eight consecutive defeats to Pep Guardiola’s side.
| Game | Bournemouth vs Manchester City |
| Date | Sunday, August 25 |
| Time | 2:00pm BST / 9:00am ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBC | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the UK, the match will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. It can be streamed via Sky GO and Sky GO Extra.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Premier League | Sky GO / Sky GO Extra |
| Position | Bournemouth squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Begovic, Boruc, Ramsdale, Travers |
| Defenders | Francis, Cook, Ake, Daniels, Smith, Stacey, Rico, Simpson, Kelly, Mepham |
| Midfielders | Gosling, Lerma, Surman, Danjuma, Cook, Stanislas, Brooks, H. Wilson, Fraser, Taylor, Billing, Butcher, Ofoborh, Kilkenny, Dobre |
| Forwards | King, Solanke, Ibe, C. Wilson |
Bournemouth are without a number of first-team players including David Brooks, Dan Gosling, Simon Francis, Arnaut Danjuma, Lloyd Kelly and Junior Stanislas.
Lewis Cook is back in training following his long-term lay-off and returns to the back line.
Confirmed Bournemouth starting XI: Ramsdale, Smith, Mepham, Cook, Daniels, King, Lerma, Ake, Billing, Fraser, Wilson.
| Position | Manchester City squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ederson, Bravo, Carson, Grimshaw |
| Defenders | Laporte, Stones, Otamendi, Walker, Cancelo, Zinchenko, Mendy, Angelino |
| Midfielders | De Bruyne, D. Silva, Gundogan, Rodri, Fernandinho, Foden |
| Forwards | Aguero, Jesus, Sterling, Sane, Mahrez, B. Silva |
Oleksandr Zinchenko was a slight worry at the end of last week’s game but has recovered from cramp and makes the team.
John Stones is still out, and while Guardiola confirmed that new right-back Joao Cancelo is ready to play, he is on the bench while Kyle Walker keeps his place.
Meanwhile, David Silva starts in place of Rodri to make his 400th appearance for the club.
Confirmed Manchester City starting XI: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Silva, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Sterling, Aguero.
Manchester City are strong favourites to continue their winning run over Bournemouth at 1/6 with bet365 . The Cherries are 14/1 outsiders, while a draw is on offer at 13/2.
Click here to see all of bet365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Bournemouth tend to struggle against Manchester City in terms of results, but they have come close to taking points off them on more than one occasion in recent seasons and will have some optimism going into this game.
Click Here: essendon bombers guernsey 2019
They have never beaten them in a competitive game and have never taken a Premier League point off them, but with a win and a draw from their opening two games, Eddie Howe’s side have started the new season reasonably well.
Struggling against City is hardly unique to Bournemouth, but Howe says their past defeats will serve as motivation ahead of Sunday’s game.
“I wouldn’t say it frustrates me,” he said. “I think it inspires me. We’ve got to try to turn that around and use that record to inspire us in this game. I don’t think we will be the only team to suffer a bad record against Manchester City in recent years.
“They are an outstanding team and every time we have played against them we have come off the pitch learning more about ourselves and what we have to do to grow and become better. We try to embrace these challenges, not look at it fearfully.”
One player to watch will, as ever, be City’s Raheem Sterling. He has flourished against Bournemouth in recent years , registering eight goals and two assists in seven league appearances including a memorable last-minute winner at the Vitality Stadium two years ago.
While his starting spot is likely to be assured, there are decisions to be made on the right with Kyle Walker hoping to hold off the challenge of Joao Cancelo, and Bernardo Silva under threat from the improving Riyad Mahrez. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if there are any selection-based recriminations for Sergio Aguero’s angry reaction to being substituted last week.
The visitors are the obvious favourites, but Guardiola insists on total focus in all of his side’s matches and is aware of the threat this week’s opponents can pose.
“We know each other quite well,” he said. “They have the same manager as four years ago. They have the same points as us.
“They defend deep with the 5-3-2. They attack really well. It’s always tough.”
While the Catalan said in his press conference that he likes the ‘justice’ of VAR , he will doubtless be hoping for a less controversial game than the clash with Spurs last week. With another home game to come before the first international break of the season, these two matches could be a chance to give a taste of Premier League action to the likes of Cancelo or Angelino, who are yet to feature since joining in the summer.