Pep Guardiola will be desperate for his side to find their best form after struggling in their last two games, but Manchester City face a Bournemouth side who are fighting for every point available.
Manchester City caved in to the pressure failing to keep up with Arsenal last weekend and facing a similar scenario when they travel to the south coast to meet Bournemouth.
Pep Guardiola’s men had already seen Arsenal escape Villa Park with all three points last Saturday, just days after City claimed a huge victory in the Gunners’ patch. But City were unable to maintain their top of the table status as they lost two points against Nottingham Forest due to a late equalizer from Chris Wood.
City again head into this weekend with a later kick-off time than Arsenal, who take on Leicester, but will be looking for a better showing against relegation-battlers Bournemouth, although the Cherries have picked up four points in their previous two games.
Here’s everything you need to know about the matchup.
When is Bournemouth vs Man City?
The two sides will meet at Vitality Stadium on Saturday, February 25, with kick-off scheduled for the afternoon at 5:30 p.m.
Guardiola would gladly repeat the previous meeting between the teams from the match earlier this season in August. City beat Scott Parker’s then team 4-0.
Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden scored before Jefferson Lerma’s late own goal compounded the rout.
Bournemouth have endured indifferent fortunes ever since, although a crucial win against Wolves last time out knocks them out of the relegation zone and has brought renewed optimism under the management of Gary O’Neill.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Who will win between Bournemouth and Man City? Let us know your predictions in the comments below.
what channel is it on?
The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League with coverage starting from 5pm
Subscribers can also stream the match via the Sky Go app.
Bournemouth vs Man City odds from Betfred
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Bournemouth – 9/1
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Draw – 9/2
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Man City – 2/7
*prices subject to change
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team news
City are awaiting the fitness of De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte after both missed the midweek Champions League draw with RB Leipzig, but both could be in line to return against Bournemouth.
John Stones remains ruled out, but Guardiola could mark the changes after not making a single change in the duel against Leipzig. Phil Foden was one of the players who did not see action, which could put him in prime position to start.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth have had a long list of injury problems and are also concerned about the fitness of a number of players to face City. Lerma, Marcus Tavernier and Jordan Zemura started the win over Wolves and will be evaluated before Saturday as they recover from a combination of minor injuries and illnesses.
Lloyd Kelly, Illia Zabarnyi and Junior Stanislas are also about to return and could be in the mix.