Manchester City vs Bournemouth: first look, expected lineup, stats and where to watch G Trends

Summary of the Manchester City and Bournemouth match

Enzo Maresca will take charge of his first home game as Manchester City manager when they host Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Maresca’s first official match since taking over from Pep Guardiola did not go as planned as he suffered a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield match last Sunday.

It exposed the weaknesses of a team missing the World Cup Golden Ball winner, who departed for Barcelona, ​​as City looked short in midfield as they were well beaten by the reigning Premier League champions.

City are said to be pushing to sign Ayoub Bouadi and Enzo Fernandes as they look to address concerns in midfield, but they are still expected to win a match that is likely to see Elliot Anderson make his home debut following his £116m move from Manchester City.

Despite last weekend’s disappointment and problems with the team, Maresca is relishing the opportunity to get off to a strong start in front of the home fans.

“Very excited to start this new chapter, this new journey,” Maresca said in his pre-match press conference.

“The goal is to continue in the same way we have done for the last 10 or 15 years. So, we are also happy to finally play our first game at home. I’m excited.”

Bournemouth are also starting a new era under Marco Rose, who replaced Andoni Iraola after the Spaniard took over at Liverpool, having guided the Cherries to European football for the first time in their history.

Even with the change in the dugout, Mariska has a good idea of ​​what to expect from the visitors.

Maresca added: “I watched the match, and I watched the pre-season match.” “I also watched some matches from last season, when he was at another club. You can clearly see who he is.

“A very aggressive team. They were really aggressive with Andoni (Iraola), and they still are. It’s quite clear what they are doing on and off the ball.”

Bournemouth have never won at the Etihad Stadium, but former Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig coach Rose is approaching his first taste of the Premier League without fear.

“It’s definitely exciting. If we haven’t won there before, maybe it’s time to do it,” Rose said. “I think we are humble enough to know how hard it is to play out there and to play with this quality of players.

“But on the other hand, we are always looking for our chances, we see our chances, and until Sunday, we will try to win the game.

“They are a big club with a great coach and a great squad. I watched three pre-season friendlies and did not expect the result of the Arsenal match.

“Manchester City had some really good games in pre-season, they were very attacking and very intense.

“With the ball, we know the quality of the players in the back four, we know the quality of the wingers and we know the quality of Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic.

“They are a great team with a great coach but I am not here to praise Manchester City, I am here to compete with them at the weekend.”

Team news for Manchester City vs Bournemouth

City will miss Jeremy Doku due to a calf injury.

Junior Cropi (foot), Julian Araujo (thigh) and Amin Adly (calf) are unavailable for the visitors.

The expected lineup for the match between Manchester City and Bournemouth

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Khosanov, Dias, Guardiol, O’Reilly; Kovacic, Anderson; Foden, Cerkey, Semenyu; Haaland

Bournemouth: Petrovic, Truvert, Hill, Silva, Juanlo, Cook, Toth, Tavernier, Kluivert, Ryan, Evanilson.

Latest form and statistics for Manchester City vs Bournemouth

• City won all nine of their home Premier League matches against Bournemouth by an aggregate score of 34-6. They scored 3.8 goals per game when hosting the Cherries in the competition. Their highest average against any home opponent.
• Rose will be only the fifth manager to see his Premier League debut away to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, with none of the previous managers having made a successful start (D1 L3). However, the last of those avoided defeat, with Chelsea drawing 1-1 there in January under Callum Macfarlane.
• City have won their first game in 14 of the last 15 Premier League seasons, barring a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in 2021-22. That’s four more wins on the opening weekend than any other team has achieved since 2011-12 (Liverpool and Manchester United, 10).
• Bournemouth have won their opening match in just two of their nine Premier League seasons (D3 L4), beating Cardiff City in 2018-19 and Aston Villa in 2022-23.
• City’s only home defeats in the Premier League in the 2025-26 season came in their first match (0-2 vs. Tottenham) and last match (1-2 vs. Villa) of the season at the Etihad Stadium. They have not lost consecutive matches in the domestic league since May 2021.

Where to watch Manchester City vs Bournemouth: TV and online

Manchester City vs. Bournemouth, 2:00 p.m. It will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and available to stream on Sky Go.

Predict the result of the Manchester City and Bournemouth match

It may take a while for Maresca’s side to hit their stride, but they should still get enough to beat Bournemouth.

Manchester City

2 – 1

Bournemouth