The State of Play
Andoni Iraola is not under pressure in charge of AFC Bournemouth but the former Rayo Vallecano boss will be keen on getting The Cherries out of their current slump. They conceded a second-half stoppage-time equaliser against Newcastle United last weekend, meaning that they are now winless in their last six matches in the Premier League as they drift away from the top-half of the table.
Manchester City got back on the winning track in midweek in fairly unconvincing fashion as they edged past Brentford by a goal to nil at the Etihad Stadium with a 71st minute strike from Erling Haaland. City can go to within a point of Liverpool after 26 matches if they win this weekend with The Reds instead playing at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the EFL Cup final against Chelsea.
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Team News
Andoni Iraola has some long-term injury absentees still missing for this weekend for AFC Bournemouth. The likes of Max Aarons and Tyler Adams are unavailable, whilst Philip Billing is missing through suspension.
Manchester City only have two key injury absentees for this weekend’s trip down to the south coast. Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol and England international Jack Grealish are those that are unavailable.
Expected Line-ups
Bournemouth: Neto; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Christie, Cook; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Solanke
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland
What they Said
For a second successive week, Iraola was critical of VAR last weekend against Newcastle. He was adamant that Newcastle should not have had the penalty that Anthony Gordon scored.
Pep Guardiola was critical of his team in their draw with Chelsea last week, saying that they only played ‘one half’ in that game after performing badly in the first-half.
When and How to Watch
This match is being played at 17:30 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday February 24th and will be televised live in the UK. It can also be streamed via the Sky Go app.
Prediction
Manchester City haven’t beaten a team by more than two goals in the Premier League since they hammered AFC Bournemouth by six goals to one in the reverse fixture between these two back in early November. Bournemouth are still winless in 2024 so will be low on confidence as they welcome a City side not quite at their fluent best. An away win remains likely but perhaps not by a hefty margin.
