Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Premier League 2018-19
Venue: Vitality Stadium
Date: Saturday, 2 March, 2019
Kick-off: 3:00pm GMT
Manchester City will have the chance to pile some additional pressure on title rivals and Premier League leaders Liverpool when they head to the south coast to face Bournemouth this weekend.
Saturday's clash at the Vitality Stadium takes place just over 24 hours before the Reds contest the 233rd Merseyside derby against Everton, meaning a win would - temporarily at least - take second-place City back to the top with a two-point cushion.
Still battling on three fronts after winning their first silverware of the season in the EFL Cup final last weekend, Pep Guardiola's men needed a 59th-minute Sergio Aguero penalty to break the resistance of stubborn West Ham on Wednesday night and make sure the gap to Liverpool stayed at one point.
Looking to throw a spanner in the works now are a Bournemouth side that have struggled for form since their surprise 4-0 drubbing of Chelsea last month, going winless in four matches and seeing their wretched away run continue with an emphatic 5-1 pasting at Arsenal.
The Cherries have slipped to 12th with a nine-point buffer to the relegation zone with 10 matches left to play.
Bournemouth team news
Bournemouth have a number of fitness problems to contend with ahead of the weekend, with Simon Francis and Lewis Cook (both knee) long-term absentees.
Steve Cook, Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Dominic Solanke have all been dealing with injury issues of late, but David Brooks did surprisingly travel to Arsenal in midweek.
Jefferson Lerma will serve the second game of a two-match suspension automatically incurred after he collected his 10th yellow card of the season.
Manchester City team news
City will remain without Fernandinho and Aymeric Laporte due to muscular injuries, while Fabian Delph (ankle) and Claudio Bravo (achilles) are also unavailable.
However, John Stones (groin) and Gabriel Jesus (hamstring) could both return after being sidelined since the 4-1 FA Cup fifth-round defeat of League Two Newport.
Benjamin Mendy did not play against West Ham, but was included in the matchday squad for only the second time since November.
Score prediction: Bournemouth 0-3 Manchester City
Injury-hit Bournemouth have conceded a combined eight goals to Liverpool and Arsenal over recent weeks and do not appear to boast the defensive nous necessary to contain City's blistering attack.
Expect a comfortable away victory that will heap the pressure on Liverpool ahead of their short trip to Goodison Park.
Bournemouth vs Manchester City tickets
For ticket information click here to head to the Bournemouth website.
Betting tips via Betfair | UK users only | Subject to change
Match odds
- Bournemouth to win: 13/1
- Draw: 6/1
- Manchester City to win: 1/4
First goalscorer odds
- Sergio Aguero: 12/5
- Gabriel Jesus: 16/5
- Raheem Sterling: 9/2
- Leroy Sane: 5/1
- Riyad Mahrez: 11/2
Click here to find the latest match odds and place a bet.
TV channel and live stream, and online coverage
The match will not be available to watch on television in the United Kingdom.
But you can follow all the action with Standard Sport's LIVE blog.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
These two teams have met on seven occasions in the Premier League, with City boasting a 100% winning record.
Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan struck at the Eithad Stadium in December to secure a hard-fought 3-1 win for the hosts after Bernardo Silva's opener was cancelled out by Wilson.
