Bournemouth vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City face the challenge of taking on an impressive Bournemouth side away from home this weekend following a disappointing Carabao Cup exit in midweek.

Despite being in good form of their own this season, City fell at the hands of Tottenham in the Round of 16 of the Carabao Cup, with Guardiola certainly having had ambitions of winning the domestic cup competition this season.

However, the present Premier League leaders must pick themselves up and not get worked up over the defeat, with fixtures coming thick and fast before the November international break with Pep Guardiola’s men heading to the South Coast to face in-form Bournemouth.

Coming into the weekend, one positive for Guardiola is the form of Matheus Nunes. Since joining the club, the Portuguese has had trouble finding regular minutes, but in recent weeks has excelled in the face of City’s injury woes.

His general performance over the course of the evening against Tottenham in North London, coupled with his first-half goal, was worthy of being awarded Player of the Match in our player ratings.

Last time out in the Premier League, Manchester City defeated Premier League newcomers Southampton, after Erling Haaland gave his side an early lead and, despite scuppering multiple chances, the goal was enough to secure three points.

Saturday’s opponents have impressed in recent weeks with a 2-0 home win against Arsenal and a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa, as the Cherries have picked up four points in their last two games against two tough opponents, lifting them to 11th place in the division.

One player who has impressed for Andoni Iraola’s side is Antoine Semenyo, with the forward’s movement, pace and trickery having caused plenty of headaches for defenders across matches so far this season.

Goalkeeper Mark Travers displayed a fantastic shot-stopping performance against Unai Emery’s side to limit the scoreline to just 1-0 until the dying embers of the game, when Evanilson popped up in the 95th minute with a guided header to the far side to secure a point.

Looking to maintain Manchester City’s top spot in the Premier League this weekend, here is everything you need to know ahead of the encounter at the Vitality Stadium!

Match Details

Manchester City face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday 2nd November at the Vitality Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 GMT.

Match Officials

Regarded by many as the best referee the PGMOL has to offer, Michael Oliver has been appointed by the Premier League to lead the officiating team out on Saturday afternoon.

The 39-year-old, who will be taking charge of his 10th Premier League match of the season, will be joined by a team of an additional three officials at the Vitality Stadium, with two more operating VAR from Stockley Park.

You can find out who will be joining Michael Oliver in overseeing proceedings here!

Team News

Manchester City are in the midst of an injury crisis at the moment with many of the senior players currently unavailable. With long-term absentees unavailable like Rodri and Oscar Bobb, City could be without a further seven players for the contest on the South Coast.

Kyle Walker is ruled out for this tie due to an ongoing knee injury, while fellow defenders Manuel Akanji and Joško Gvardiol could also miss the match, with the Swiss international having suffered a groin issue during the week.

Winger Savinho was stretchered off in the defeat at Spurs with an ankle injury, and Pep Guardiola will be hoping the issue is not as serious as it first appeared with his side’s injuries stacking up.

Having missed the last few games, Jack Grealish has also been ruled out until after the international break, alongside wide-attacking profile Jérémy Doku. His timescale is slightly longer than that of Grealish’s, with both problems leading to Nunes featuring on the left.

Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne continues his recovery from a groin problem, with the midfielder having not featured since the Champions League match against Inter Milan despite partaking in first-team training over the last weeks.

Andoni Iraola’s side have a few injuries of their own, with talented midfielder Alex Scott out of action for the foreseeable future having suffered a meniscus tear. The hope from Bournemouth’s side is that he will return around the Christmas or New Year period.

Head To Head

This weekend’s two teams have faced off just 21 times in their history, with the first dating back to 1987. In that affair, Manchester City came out 2-0 winners and that good fortune has repeated itself over and over again.

City remain unbeaten against Bournemouth, with 19 wins in 21 matches. Last season, Pep Guardiola enjoyed a 7-1 aggregate win against Andoni Iraola, having beaten the Cherries 6-1 at home.

Jérémy Doku opened the scoring on the half-hour mark before Bernardo Silva doubled City’s lead a few minutes later – his first of two goals on that day. Manuel Akanji, Nathan Aké and Phil Foden also found themselves on the scoresheet.

The second affair came in a 0-1 win away at the Vitality Stadium. On his way to being crowned PFA Player of the Year, Phil Foden netted the only goal of the game in the 24th minute.

Statistics

Manchester City have won all 14 Premier League matches against Bournemouth by an aggregate scoreline of 45-7.

Bournemouth have never defeated a side starting the day at the top of the table. This 100% loss record spans across 11 matches.

The Cherries have won their last two games at home. They’ve only won three on the bounce three times in their history. The last time they did this was in March/April earlier this year.

Pep Guardiola’s team are unbeaten in 2024 in the Premier League, winning 23 and drawing 5 of 28 games. Only twice before has a team gone longer without defeat: Chelsea in 2009 (29 games) and Nottingham Forest in 1978 (35).

With 39 Premier League shots thus far this season, Antoine Semenyo is second only to Erling Haaland, who has 43. Compared to 26 for Haaland, only eight of Semenyo’s shots have been on target.

Phil Foden has scored in each of his last five appearances against Bournemouth, also providing three assists.

Joško Gvardiol has scored five goals in Manchester City’s last seven Premier League away games.

How To Watch

Due to the 3PM blackout regulations in the UK, the match will not be televised for domestic fans. However, TalkSport will provide radio coverage for fans that want to follow the game.

For American fans, the contest will be shown live on Peacock.

You can find full global TV listings for the matchweek ten encounter in the Premier League HERE!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!