Manchester City host Bournemouth on Sunday as they kick off their first Premier League season in a decade without Pep Guardiola in charge.
Enzo Maresca is tasked with delivering trophies at City and his new-look side have had a tough preseason as plenty of experienced, crucial players (Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva) have moved on. Their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield last weekend was also very worrying. Still, having Erling Haaland and plenty of other superstars around is very helpful for Maresca and City will still be right up there.
It has been all change at Bournemouth this summer too with Marco Rose replacing Andoni Iraola as head coach, as the Cherries prepare for their first-ever season in Europe. It will be intriguing to see how Bournemouth’s relatively small squad juggles the Thursday-Sunday grind.
Here’s everything you need for Manchester City vs Bournemouth.
How to watch Manchester City vs Bournemouth live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday (August 23)
Venue: Etihad Stadium — Manchester
TV Channel: USA
Stream link: Watch on USA
Manchester City team news
New signing Elliot Anderson will be crucial to Maresca’s possession-based football in midfield, while Antoine Semenyo will be tasked with feeding Erling Haaland chances. Jeremy Doku came off with a slight issue in the Community Shield last weekend. City are still set to be very active in the transfer market and we should see plenty of ins and outs from them in the final days of the summer window.
Bournemouth team news
The Cherries have largely kept the same team together which finished sixth in the Premier League last season and qualified for the Europa League and just missed out on the Champions League. New manager Rose loves high-pressing so should slot in nicely. New signings Alvaro Rodriguez, Antonio Silva and Juanlu Sanchez should all have an immediate impact.
Manchester City vs Bournemouth prediction
This could be quite a tough outing for City but they will just about get the job done. Don’t be shocked if they fall behind early. Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth.
