Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola acknowledged the difficulty in having to beat Bournemouth to keep their Premier League dream alive.
City head to the south coast in buoyant mood after winning the FA Cup at the weekend with victory over Chelsea but must now see off a Cherries side unbeaten in 17 games in all competitions if they want to pip Arsenal to the title.
“It’s a different competition [to Saturday] but of course it’s better to travel to Bournemouth with the feeling that we won the FA Cup, than the opposite,” said Guardiola.
“Bournemouth are 17 games unbeaten so the run is unbelievable. This season again, what they have done with losing three players from the back four who had success last season, and still again they do it.
“The only chance we have [to win the league] is to win the game so we have to break that run, otherwise it will be over.”
Bournemouth are still in with a shout of Champions League qualification and will be fresh having not played since beating Fulham last weekend.
They defeated City in the corresponding league fixture last season but Guardiola’s men gained revenge in the FA Cup.
“It’s always difficult [against Bournemouth], it always has been,” the Catalan added. “Last season it was one of our worst performances in the Premier League. And when we played in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season, we played really good, so we’ll see which phase we can do tomorrow.
“We’ve had three days [since the FA Cup final]. They’ve had 10 days to prepare for the game and they play to qualify for the Champions League, so I think they have an argument to be the best version of Bournemouth, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen.”
Bournemouth’s best hope of Champions League qualification comes from Aston Villa dropping to fifth and winning the Europa League when they face Freiburg in the final on Wednesday night.
They will be guaranteed a place in Europe of some form with a point against City.
Andoni Iraola, speaking before his final home game in charge, said: “We are close, but we still don’t have it. We need one more point but it won’t be easy. [Manchester] City are in good form after a trophy, they are also fighting for the league but we are ready. We are in a good place, we don’t have injuries. We are looking forward to the game tomorrow.”
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Team news for Bournemouth v Manchester City
Lewis Cook returns to the Bournemouth squad after being sidelined since February with hamstring and calf issues. Right-back Alex Jimenez remains the subject of a club investigation and won’t be considered for selection. Ryan Christie is suspended.
City have a fully-fit squad to choose from and Guardiola must weigh up whether to rotate following their exertions at Wembley at the weekend. Gianluigi Donnarumma will definitely return in goal.
Predicted line-ups for Bournemouth v Manchester City
Bournemouth: Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Adams, Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson
Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Kovacic, Silva, Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland
Where to watch Bournemouth v Manchester City: TV and online streams
Bournemouth versus Manchester City kicks-off at 7.30pm on Tuesday night. You can watch it on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event. It can be streamed on Sky Go.
If you’re watching from outside the UK, click HERE for details of the channels showing the game in your region.
Stats for Bournemouth v Manchester City
- Manchester City have won 16 of their 17 previous Premier League games against Bournemouth
- Bournemouth’s 16-game unbeaten run in the Premier League is the longest any side has achieved this season
- Manchester City have lost three of their last four Premier League games on the south coast
Prediction for Bournemouth v Manchester City
Bournemouth are in formidable form and will present Manchester City with a serious test.
City are clicking at the right time, however, and we fancy them to edge this one, although it could be nervy.
Prediction: Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City
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