Man City vs Bournemouth Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Manchester City are beginning a new era in the 2026-27 Premier League season as they welcome AFC Bournemouth to the Etihad Stadium on the opening day of the campaign.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / USA – USA Network
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – Telemundo
Man City preview: The new City
For the first time since May 2016, Manchester City are managed by someone that isn’t Pep Guardiola. Former Leicester City and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, once an assistant to Guardiola at City, is now at the helm at the Etihad.
As well as the departure of their legendary manager, City have also seen both John Stones and Bernardo Silva depart the club with something of a changing of the guard that did begin a year or so earlier with the influx of younger talent, such as Abdukodir Khusanov, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki through their spine.
The Maresca-era has started badly with City hammered by Arsenal by three goals to nil in the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium.
Bournemouth preview: Change at Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth are themselves going through a change. Andoni Iraola announced his departure for the end of the season in April and the now Liverpool boss has been replaced by former Borussia Monchengladbach and RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose.
The Cherries, with the BlackKnight Group as their owners, have proven themselves to be more than capable of withstanding change, and even improving after the departures of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Illya Zabarnyi and Dango Ouattara last summer, as well as Antoine Semenyo to City in the winter. They still managed to finish as high as sixth, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League and narrowly missing out on UEFA Champions League football.
Man City team news: Change to their squad
Enzo Maresca is going be working as he goes in the opening few weeks of the season and that is perhaps best shown by their two injury issues for the opening day involving players that are reportedly set to depart the club.
2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is reportedly set to join Barcelona and he missed the Community Shield due to injury, while the supposedly ill Savinho is said to be close to joining Tottenham Hotspur.
Further details will appear here following pre-match press conferences…
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Kovacic, Anderson, Foden; Semenyo, Haaland, Doku
Unavailable: Rodri (Injured)
Questionable: Savinho (Illness)
Man City’s top FPL assets
Nico O'Reilly (£6.5m) – Defender
Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m) – Midfielder
Erling Haaland (£15.5m) – Forward
Gameweek 1 captain pick: Erling Haaland
Bournemouth team news: Alvaro a doubt
Having signed for a relatively sizeable fee this summer, Uruguayan striker Alvaro Rodriguez is a doubt for the opening day alongside key defensive midfielder Tyler Adams.
Bournemouth have kept hold of some key men such as Alex Scott and Rayan but another of their prized assets, Eli Junior Kroupi, is set to miss a fair chunk of the campaign due to an ankle injury that required surgery in late-July.
Further details will appear here following pre-match press conferences…
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Juanlu, Silva, Diakite, Truffert; Cook, Scott; Rayan, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson
Unavailable: Milosavljevic (Injured), Araujo (Injured), Christie (Suspended), Kroupi (Injured)
Questionable: Soler (Injured), Adams (Injured), Adli (Injured), Brooks (Injured), Alvaro (Injured)
Bournemouth’s top FPL assets
Adrien Truffert (£5.5m) – Defender
Rayan (£6.5m) – Midfielder
Evanilson (£6.0m) – Forward
Gameweek 1 captain pick: Rayan
Man City vs Bournemouth prediction
As was the case with both Chelsea and Leicester City, Enzo Maresca’s early football can be quite exhilarating and attacking before he finally gets a hold of things and works out a way of being able to balance that with control, both to positive and negative effects. Bournemouth will continue to play with an Iraola-like high-press with Rose now at the helm and that will again be the case no matter who their opposition is so a high-scoring encounter seems a decent bet for this one in Manchester on Sunday afternoon.
Man City vs Bournemouth tip: Over 2.5 goals
