Manchester City will make the trip to the Vitality Stadium as they look to grasp the accessible 2nd spot as Tottenham Hotspur were blown away by a scintillating first half display by Liverpool at Anfield. The Sky Blues have been good in recent weeks and have strung together wins against West Ham United and Swansea City. City moved back into the 3rd spot after favourable results elsewhere last weekend. And Pep will hope that their worst phase and results are behind them as they look to solidify their place in the Top 4.
For the Cherries, it will be another difficult assignment and Eddie Howe will look to pay special attention towards his defence, which has been all over the place, especially against the top teams. With no Nathan Ake, it will be a struggle but something they have to fix in order to get their season back on track.
Let us take a look at 3 areas of interest before the match commences Monday night.
WILL SERGIO AGUERO START?
Overlooking Manchester City’s recent resurgence and the fact that Jesus, Sterling and Sane have been doing brilliantly in the last 3 games, all the attention has been on the axing of Sergio Aguero. While such a decision does warrant mentions, it has gone overboard and there were talks in the beginning of the week that Pep Guardiola might look to start the two up front to gauge the understanding and chemistry between the two. If Pep can make that happen without compromising on the overall approach, it will be a huge plus for the Sky Blues.
CAN BOURNEMOUTH’S DEFENCE COPE UP?
Manchester City have already notched up a 4-0 win over the Cherries in their reverse fixture early on in the season and if recent weeks are considered as an indicator, there is a chance of something similar happening. Howe and his boys were beaten 6-3 by Everton and have struggled at the back this season. And after the departure of Nathan Ake, things have become worse. It will be important for the players available to put their hands up and put their bodies on the line if they are to get anything from this game.
WILL FERNANDINHO CONTINUE AT RIGHT-BACK?
There was talk at the start of the season of a different position for Fernandinho as with the arrival of Gundogan it was difficult to see a role for him in the midfield. But he exceeded all expectations and became the main man in midfield. But a trio of red cards and Yaya Toure’s displays have seen the Ivorian as the first choice in midfield. And Fernandinho was utilised as the right-back in the last game as a result. It will be interesting to watch whether it was a one-off from the Catalan or Zabaleta and Sagna will be having more time off from now until the end of the season.
