AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City Predictions

• Bournemouth have failed to win any of their last four home games
• Manchester City have kept three clean sheets in their last 15 away matches
• City have scored 13 goals in their three FA Cup matches this season

City could just hold the edge

Nobody at Manchester City will have envisaged that the club would be heading towards April with just the FA Cup to play for this season, but while a top-four spot in the Premier League is hardly considered great achievement for the champions, they can still progress to the semi-finals at Bournemouth’s expense.

The Cherries are enjoying an excellent campaign and having beaten Pep Guardiola’s side 2-1 at the Vitality on November 2 when few will have anticipated City’s implosion, they will fancy their chances in only their second FA Cup quarter-final since 1957.

However, recent results temper enthusiasm about the chances of Andoni Iraola’s side progressing, even though victories over West Brom, Everton and Wolves are perhaps more impressive than City’s wins over Salford, Leyton Orient and Championship strugglers Plymouth.

The south-coast side have lost their last three home league games against the Liverpool, Brentford and Wolves, who they needed penalties to get past in the last round, so while City have been comprehensively beaten on the road at Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Real Madrid lately, they might just represent some value at odds-against to win in 90 minutes.

Cherries should still go on the front foot

The Vitality is one of six Premier League venues where City have left empty-handed this season and Guardiola’s side will have to withstand plenty of pressure from a team who play with great intensity, which they demonstrated well when storming to a 2-0 lead at Tottenham recently before having to settle for a point.

City have kept just three clean sheets in their last 15 away games and there may be concerns that they conceded four times against PSG, five against Arsenal and three against Madrid.

So it would not be a surprise if they conceded so correct-score enthusiasts may be interested in backing a 2-1 win for the visitors, which is what Brentford earned at the Vitality in Bournemouth’s last home game.

Marmoush can continue his impressive start

Erling Haaland is predictably the favourite to score the game’s first goal, but it could pay to back City’s Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush to get on the scoresheet.

He has made a decent start to life at the Etihad since his January move from Eintracht Frankfurt with the highlight being a hat-trick in the 4-0 home win over Newcastle.

Marmoush scored in City’s last outing – a 2-2 draw with Brighton – and after five attempts at goal in the fourth-round tie against Orient, he could hit the target again.