AFC Bournemouth vs Manchester City Predictions

Bournemouth welcome Premier League champions Manchester City to the south coast on Sunday, hoping to make the most of the momentum they gained from their smash and grab win at Aston Villa last weekend.

The Cherries raced into an early two-goal lead at Villa Park, and even though the pressure from the hosts was intense for two thirds of the game, Eddie Howe’s men showed a robustness at the back that went against the grain of their porous reputation.

Bournemouth’s defensive levels will have to be cranked up another few notches to keep Pep Guardiola’s City at arm’s length on Sunday however.

Like the Cherries, the Citizens took four points from their opening two Premier League fixtures against West Ham and Tottenham respectively, though City could and probably should have taken maximum points against Spurs having registered over 30 shots against them in a 2-2 draw that was wrapped in VAR controversy.

City’s two goals against Tottenham brought their haul to the season so far to seven, and the Citizens have racked up more attempts on goal on average (22) than any other team in the division – by some distance.

Just like last season, the champion’s attack looks packed to bursting with goal scoring potential, and the Citizens generally have their shooting boots on when facing Bournemouth.

Since the Cherries promotion to the top flight in 2015, they have gone toe-to-toe with City on eight separate occasions, and the Citizens have enjoyed total dominance over their less illustrious foes, maintaining a 100% win record against Bournemouth, while rattling home 25 goals in the process (3.125 goals on average per game).

We expect City to flex their considerable attacking muscle again this weekend, in what promises to be another exciting encounter against a Bournemouth team that has kept just 7 clean sheets in their last 33 Premier League home matches since December 2017.

Two of the last three meetings between Bournemouth and City saw over 3.5 goals scored, and we’re tipping Sunday’s game to be equally exciting. We also expect City to leave the Vitality Stadium with three points, which is why we recommend coupling an away win with over 3.5 total goals combination.

Our correct score prediction tips City to win 3-1, a result that would mirror the final score-line from the Citizens and Bournemouth’s clash last December.

With four goals in his first two Premier League starts of the season, Raheem Sterling has hit the ground running in 2019/20, and with the England international in such scintillating form, we think he is well worth backing in the anytime goalscorer market for Sunday’s fixture.

Sterling also tends to excel in games against Bournemouth, and the former Liverpool star has scored 8 times in just 7 career appearances against the Cherries. We expect him to enhance that phenomenal individual record even further this weekend.