ANDONI IRAOLA finally won his first Premier League game as Bournemouth boss last weekend but faces one hell of a task following it up as he takes his side to the Etihad to face European champions Manchester City.
Despite being publicly backed by the club before the clash with Burnley, Iraola knew it was a must-win game after watching the Cherries tumble into the drop zone after a poor start to the campaign.
The duly won 2-1, albeit with some VAR controversy, and the Athletic Bilbao legend will now be hoping his side can start climbing the Premier League table as they enter a kinder of run of fixtures in the wake of this clash with City.
But Bournemouth crashed out of the League Cup to Liverpool in midweek and even the most optimistic of fans won't fancy their chances at the Etihad, however, with the champions firing out a statement of intent last weekend by winning the derby at Old Trafford.
Our man Mark fancied Erling Haaland to spearhead a comfortable win over Manchester United and that's how it panned out with the Norwegian netting twice in a 3-0 stroll.
Manchester City look back to their best after a blip that saw them lose three domestic games in a row and will be confident of hunting down Arsenal and Tottenham at the top as they bid to hold on to their Premier League crown.
How the bookies view it
Bournemouth have been written off and are as big as 28/1 with 10Bet for a shock Etihad victory. Manchester City's best price is a tiny 1/9 at Coral while the draw pays 11/1 with Betfair.
Recent head to head
Bournemouth have never beaten Manchester City in their 19 meetings and the best they have mustered is just two draws. City have won their last 14 matches against the Cherries and strolled it last season. It ended 4-0 when Bournemouth came calling and that was followed by a 4-1 win for the champions on the south coast.
Players to watch
Haaland is just 4/11 for anytime scorer and even backing him to score two or more only boosts the odds to 7/4 at Paddy Power. So I'm looking elsewhere for a Manchester City scorer and Julian Alvarez looks good at evens with William Hill after netting seven times already this season.
Dominic Solanke has been in good form up front for Bournemouth, despite his side's struggles. The striker has five goals from just 12 outings and is 6/1 at Bet365 to add to that tally here.
Anything else catch the eye?
Iraola isn't renowned for parking the bus so it should be an open game. Over 1.5 first-half goals looks good at 19/20 with Coral and I also think BTTS might stand a chance at 27/20 with Unibet.
Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie is prone to a rash challenge and might get frustrated spending most of the game chasing sky blue jerseys. The former Celtic man is 17/5 at Midnite to go in the book while Bet365 have him at 10/3.
Young Argentinian Alvarez has done a great job deputising for Kevin De Bruyne and has contributed four assists in addition to his seven goals this term. He's 12/5 at Bet365 to set up another here and that looks good value.
This English Premier League match between Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth will be played on Nov 4, 2023 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.
