Manchester City will be looking to get back to winning ways when they make the trip to Bournemouth on the south coast. Pep Guardiola’s men failed to make their opportunities count last time as they drew with Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.
Bournemouth haven’t had the best start to their season, with consecutive losses to West Bromwich Albion and Watford in recent weeks. They will want to get their season back on track, but it won’t be easy against a City side looking to win their first Premier League title in four years.
The last time these two sides faced was also at the Vitality Stadium, with City edging a tight game 2-0, thanks to Raheem Sterling and a Tyrone Mings own goal. City have won all of their encounters with Bournemouth so far, but they’ll know it won’t be easy with the threat that Bournemouth have going forward.
The Cherries have made three signings so far this window, with the big capture being Nathan Ake from Chelsea in a club record fee of £19.3 million. Other purchases include Jermain Defoe from Sunderland on a free transfer and Conor Mahoney as a free agent from Blackburn Rovers. Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe knows this will be a tough test for his seemingly weak squad, and they will be up against it for the majority of the match.
Here’s how we expect Pep Guardiola to set out his team for the game.
GK - Ederson Moraes
Ederson will continue his stint in goal after two decent performances so far.
CB - Vincent Kompany
Vincent will be the first centre-back in a back three.
CB - John Stones
Stones will partner Kompany in the back three.
CB - Nicolas Otamendi
After putting in a spirited performance against Everton, Otamendi will almost certainly retain his place at the back.
CDM - Fernandinho
Ferna was another player who performed very well against Everton and his versatility will be crucial in keeping City ticking.
RWB - Danilo
With Walker suspended for this game, Danilo will take his place at right wing-back.
CAM - David Silva
Silva will most likely start behind the strikers, but he will need to improve on his overall performance against Everton. Bernardo Silva could feature ahead of him.
CAM - Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin was probably City’s best creative spark on Monday and will be keen to get involved again to help City push for the top of the table.
LWB - Leroy Sane
This position could change if Benjamin Mendy is fit for Saturday’s game. If not, then Leroy will start again at wing-back, which doesn’t suit his style at all.
ST - Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel needs to find his form and this game may be where he gets off the mark.
ST - Sergio Aguero
After another game in which he failed to convert his chances, Sergio needs a good run of goals under his belt to get his confidence back. The game on Saturday could be his chance to do that.