Champions Manchester City and newly-promoted Bournemouth meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon after both winning 2-0 on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Last time out, the Citizens defeated West Ham United at the London Stadium, while the Cherries defeated Aston Villa convincingly.
Team News
Manchester City
- Man City will be missing Aymeric Laporte and Kalvin Phillips, while Cole Palmer is questionable due to a foot injury but would not have started anyway.
- Bernardo Silva was noticeably absent from the starting lineup amid ongoing speculation about a move to Barcelona, and it would be intriguing to see if he starts here after refusing to rule out a summer escape from the Etihad.
- Riyad Mahrez is also striving to reclaim his right-hand side berth after Phil Foden’s departure, while Sergio Gomez’s transfer from Anderlecht could be confirmed before the weekend. But he is unlikely to play just yet.
Bournemouth
- Parker has ruled Joe Rothwell and Ryan Fredericks out of Bournemouth’s clash with the champions, and the pair are still some weeks away from returning to competitive action.
- David Brooks is also still on the comeback track after being diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma last year and recovering, and Parker must decide whether to rush Neto and Senesi right into the action in the most tough domestic match of them all.
- Parker may prefer to ease the duo into Premier League play from the bench, which means Mark Travers will start in goal at the Etihad.
Prediction Analysis
Bournemouth deserved all of the praise they received after defeating Aston Villa on the opening weekend, but a trip to the Etihad is a whole different ballgame.
Guardiola’s champions should have little trouble overcoming the Cherries’ low block and defensive-heavy setup on Saturday, and the Cherries should be handed a rough welcome back to life with the big boys.
Our prediction is Manchester City 4-0 Bournemouth.
Possible Lineup
Manchester City: Walker, Dias, Stones, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Bournemouth: Travers; Smith, Kelly, Mepham, Lerma, Zemura; Tavernier, Pearson, Billing, Solanke; Moore.