Manchester City play at the Etihad for the first time this season as they welcome newly promoted Bournemouth in Premier League on Saturday. Bournemouth looked confident in their opening fixture but playing at the home of the champions is a different task and City are expected to be too strong.
Manchester City got their title defence off to a fine start as they claimed a 2-0 victory over West Ham in their opening fixture. The champions were comfortable throughout the contest, limiting the Hammers to just a single attempt on target in 90 minutes.
Although the win and performance is what we have come to expect from Pep Guardiola’s men, the manager will be particularly pleased with the showing of Erling Haaland on his debut. The Norwegian striker looked confident leading the line for the Citizens, capping off a fine display with a brace.
Home form was pivotal to Manchester City’s title run last season and they will be expecting something similar this term. They have won five of their last six Premier League matches at the Etihad, scoring three or more goals in all five wins.
Bournemouth also made a winning start to their Premier League campaign as they claimed a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa. Jefferson Lerma opened the scoring early in the first half while Kieffer Moore added the second 10 minutes from time.
The Cherries’ last Premier League campaign was characterised by defensive problems but manager Scott Parker appeared to solve that problem in the opening fixture.
In attack, Kieffer Moore is already off the mark and the visitors will be hoping strike partner Dominic Solanke rediscovers some of his Championship form from last season.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Manchester City as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 1/10 by Sport Nation. An unlikely victory for Bournemouth is valued at 41/1 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 12/1 by Unibet.
Head to head
Manchester City have never lost to Bournemouth, claiming 12 wins and one draw from 13 previous matches. City beat the Cherries three times in their last Premier League campaign with most recent victory a 2-1 Carabao Cup victory in 2020.
Players to watch
Erling Haaland announced himself to the Premier League with a brace in the opening fixture and will once again be the one to watch for Manchester City. With Kevin De Bruyne constantly supplying the ammunition, the striker could be backed to get on the score sheet again at 3/10 with BoyleSports.
Kieffer Moore is already off the mark for Bournemouth and could be backed to once again get on the score sheet at 5/1 with Coral. Strike partner Dominic Solanke could also be worth keeping an eye on in the same market at 6/1 with bet365 as he looks to rediscover some of his Championship form.
Anything else catch the eye?
Manchester City are expected to dominate the newly promoted side and could be backed in the -2 handicap market at 8/11 with Paddy Power. There have been over 3.5 goals in four of Manchester City’s last five matches and a repeat could be on the cards at 22/23 with 10bet.
Erling Haaland opened the scoring at West Ham and with Manchester City constantly creating chances for the striker, be could be tipped to grab the first goal on Saturday at 15/8 with bet365.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth will be played on Aug 13, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
