Manchester City vs. Bournemouth Predictions

• Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
• When: Sunday, August 23, 3 pm ET

The Citizens have suffered a hard reality check in the Community Shield and look to bounce back in the opening round of the Premier League. New manager Enzo Maresca will face huge pressure, so this game is extremely important to the Italian manager. Meanwhile, Bournemouth underwent a massive rebuild this summer, and fans don’t quite know what to expect from this unit.

Manchester City vs. Bournemouth Preview

Manchester City

Arsenal smashed City in the Community Shield, 3-0, exposing plenty of weaknesses and flaws in the Citizens’ game. Sure, the Sky Blues were stunned by a first-minute goal, but they had enough time to rebound; still, they didn’t do much on the pitch.

We have to say, the Citizens’ defense is utterly problematic. Their back line showed weakness on multiple occasions, and Maresca won’t have too much time to fix all that. First of all, because the season starts, and secondly, because the pressure from the fans will be massive.

On the other hand, Haaland looked cut off upfront. Is this because of the new system Maresca tries to implement or the fact that City’s midfield is significantly weaker than before? We’ll find out against the Cherries.

Bournemouth

Andoni Iraola left Bournemouth this summer to take over Liverpool. His replacement is Marco Rose, who has extensive Bundesliga experience and also prefers an offensive-minded, attacking playstyle.

The Cherries opened the preseason with a few consecutive wins, before playing 2-2 against Betis and losing to Mainz in the last test game, 2-1.

What has been a constant during this period is that the Cherries’ games all brought goals on both ends, and that in all of them we saw at least three hits. After seeing these results, we are pretty sure Bournemouth won’t change its tactics or mentality under Rose, but will continue playing efficient football.

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Manchester City and Bournemouth Possible Lineups

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Kovacic, Anderson; Semenyo, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Bournemouth: Petrovic; Truggers, Hill, Silva, Smith; Toth, Cook; Rayan, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson

Manchester City vs Bournemouth Head to Head

The last 5 games between these teams ended with both teams scoring. Only one in the previous 10 contests didn’t bring three or more goals. Last season, City beat the Cherries 3-1 in Manchester, while the second meeting ended 1-1.

Manchester City vs. Bournemouth Predictions

City is the favorite despite its recent Community Shield crash. Overall, they have a better team, play at home, and have to respond following a painful loss to their biggest rivals over the past few years. The odds aren’t particularly high, but we are still picking City’s triumph here as the best possible solution.

Our verdict: Manchester City

Manchester City versus Bournemouth Odds

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