Manchester City vs Bournemouth – Match Preview
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Manchester City finished the opening third of the Premier League season two points clear at the top, that said we all know that you cannot win the title this early in the campaign. The challenge now for Pep Guardiola’s men is to continue their impressive form throughout the hectic Winter schedule and beyond.
Next up for them is the visit of a Bournemouth side who are having no trouble mixing it with the top sides and will look to throw a spanner in the works of a City side who are almost making light work of anyone who dares get in their way at present.
The most recent example of this was when they made the trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham and it is fair to say that the Hammers will be sick of the sight of City after they were dealt another crushing defeat by them last Saturday.
It was just the four goals that West Ham conceded this time around in a game that was all but over before half time and if City were in a more ruthless mood then they could have just as easily added a couple more goals to the final tally.
Not only are they winning games with real ease as of late, but they are also giving very little away at the other end. They go into this game with a goal difference of plus 35 already, if they keep that up throughout the season then they will finish nearer plus 100.
That is the measure of just how rampant this team has been and it’s a run of a results that will have Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe wondering just what kind of setup he opts for when the two sides square off at the Etihad.
Do you go toe to toe and leave yourself at risk at being picked off by the likes of Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling or do you sit back from minute one and invite the pressure that will come in continual waves throughout the game.
Whichever strategy is chosen it will only play into City’s hands, something that makes it almost the impossible question to answer. That said, Bournemouth are no pushovers and will certainly not show any tactical naivety against the defending champions.
They were unfortunate not to get anything from their clash with Arsenal last Sunday with the Gunners coming out on top by two goals to one, a win that was massively aided by Jefferson Lerma’s freak own goal that opened the scoring for the North London outfit.
It was another game in which Bournemouth gave a good account of themselves but were just let down by the lack of overall quality when it really mattered. Something that could well end up being the case on Saturday.
Manchester City will go into this meeting as heavy favourites and rightly so, there is little to suggest that they won’t come away with all three points and it will take a very brave person to bet against them doing so.
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