Manchester City head into the weekend heavily favored to beat AFC Bournemouth, and it is extremely easy to see why.
Not only is Man City, well, City (reigning treble winners) and the Cherries are the Cherries (frequent relegation strugglers), but City will enter this match with much more rest, as they don’t have a EFL Cup round of 16 tie in midweek to contend with.
Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth FYIs
Kickoff: Nov. 4, 4pm, Etihad Stadium
Man City Starting XI Prediction: go here Team News for Both Sides
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Odds/Probability: United Win 4% | City 88% | Draw 8%
Table Position: Bournemouth 17th, 6 pts City 3rd, 24 pts
Premier League Form: Bournemouth WLLLL Man City WWLLW
Bournemouth, as of press time here, still have a League Cup 4th round match against Liverpool to play, and whatever transpires there could affect their squad’s overall fitness situation.
And since we’re talking squad fitness, City are only one player away from having full fitness. Thus, manager Pep Guardiola could do whatever he wants with his lineup here.
This is how we think he’ll fill out the team sheet.
Man City Starting XI Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth
Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Kyle Walker; Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez Jack Grealish; Erling Haaland
Prediction: Manchester City 4, Bournemouth 0
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.