Manchester City will make their way to the Vitality Stadium as they look to make it 4 wins in a row which will be their 2nd longest winning streak after the brilliant 10-match winning streak at the start of the season. Pep Guardiola has unveiled a new youthful strike force in recent weeks and the likes of Jesus, Sterling and Sane have ripped apart defences at times and they have made their presence felt in the league lately.
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.
TRIVIA
- Manchester City have never lost to Bournemouth in a league game, winning seven and drawing two.
- Bournemouth have lost all three of their Premier League games against Man City, scoring once and conceding 13 goals.
- The Premier League record for goals scored by a club against an opponent in the first four games against them is Manchester United against Bradford City, who scored 17 goals against the Bantams between 1999 and 2001.
- Bournemouth have conceded four or more goals in their last three top-flight games against the Citizens. The last team to do so in four consecutive top-flight games against an opponent was Watford against Everton between 1984 and 1985.
- Bournemouth have lost all three of their Premier League games on a Monday without scoring a goal, while Man City have won 10 of their last 13 (L3) played on a Monday.
- Raheem Sterling’s first Premier League hat-trick came against the Cherries in October 2015, helping City to a 5-1 victory at the Etihad. Indeed, Sterling has notched four goals in two Premier League games against them, averaging a goal every 42 minutes.
- Gabriel Jesus has scored in both of his first two Premier League starts for Man City. The only players to score on their first three Premier League starts for the club are Emmanuel Adebayor (4 in 2009) and Kevin de Bruyne (3 in 2015).
- Jesus is averaging a goal or assist every 47 minutes in his Premier League career so far, scoring three goals and assisting once in 188 minutes of action.
TEAM NEWS & PREDICTED LINE-UPS
BOURNEMOUTH (4-2-3-1)
The Bournemouth boss has concerns over Simon Francis, Charlie Daniels and Adam Smith, with Francis and Daniels battling hamstring injuries. Smith is also a doubt after missing last weekend’s defeat at Everton, meaning Howe may be forced into a defensive reshuffle ahead of City’s visit.
Callum Wilson underwent surgery on Thursday and remains sidelined for the rest of the season with a long-term knee injury.
Boruc; Smith, Francis, Cook, Smith; Surman, Arter; Stanislas, Wilshere, Fraser; King
MANCHESTER CITY (4-1-4-1)
Guardiola has a fully-fit Man City squad to choose from, which will certainly pose a headache for him but it is a sort of headache Guardiola would want.
Caballero; Fernandinho, Kompany, Stones, Kolarov; Toure; Silva, De Bruyne, Sane, Sterling; Jesus
BETTING ODDS
BOURNEMOUTH- 13/2
DRAW- 4/1
MANCHESTER CITY- 4/9
TRIVIA COURTESY- OPTA
