Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth meet forces at Etihad Stadium, in a match for the 36 th round of the Premier League. In the last head ‑ to ‑ head for this edition of the league, played on 25‑08‑2019, Manchester City won by (1‑3). In this stadium, the history of direct confrontations is favorable to the home team, which registers 4 victories in the last 4 matches. In fact, the last time these two teams played a match at this stadium was on 01‑12‑2018, in a match for the Premier League that ended with the victory of Manchester City by (3‑1). The goals of the match were scored by Bernardo Silva (16 ‘), R. Sterling (57’) and İ. Gündoğan (79 ‘), for Manchester City, and C. Wilson (44′), for AFC Bournemouth. The home advantage may play an important role in this match, since AFC Bournemouth presents considerable differences in their results at home and away.
Manchester City :
The home team is currently in 2nd place, with 57 points won, after 18 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses. In the penultimate match, they won in an away match against Leicester City, by (0‑1). In the last match, they lost in an away match against Manchester United, by (2‑0). This is a team that presents similar results at home and away, so it is not usually affected by the home factor, since in the last 30 games it has recorded 11 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses as a visitor; against 11 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in his stadium. In their last 10 home matches for the championship, Manchester City have won 7, tied 1 and lost 2, winning 22 points in 30 possible. His offense has scored consistently, as he has scored goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In their home matches there is a tendency for goals, since 10 of the last 13 matches for this competition have ended with Over 2,5 goals. In 28 games in this competition, he only got 3 comebacks in the 10 games in which he suffered the first goal. In the last 13 home matches for this competition there is 1 period that stands out: they have suffered 5 of their 12 goals between minutes (16’ ‑ 30 ‘).
Manchester City comes to this match highly motivated, after a 0-5 draw on the visit to the Brighton arena: Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva scored the winning goals. The Manchester club usually plays in a 4-3-3, in which the three men responsible for panicking the rival defense are Sterling, Gabriel Jesús and Mahrez. Thus, acting at home, Manchester City is expected to maintain its excellent moment of form. In this match, coach Pep Guardiola must have three absences, all due to injury: Sergio Agüero, Philippe Sandler and Zack Steffen.
AFC Bournemouth :
The visiting team is currently in 18th place, with 27 points won, after 7 wins, 6 draws and 16 losses. In the penultimate match, they tied in a home match against Chelsea, by (2‑2). In the last match, they lost in an away match against Liverpool, by (2‑1). This is a stronger team with the support of their fans, since in the last 30 games they have recorded 2 wins, 1 draw and 12 losses as a visitor, with 10 goals scored and 27 suffered; against 5 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses in his stadium, with 20 goals scored and 19 suffered. For the championship, AFC Bournemouth conquered 3 points in 30 possible, after 1 victory and 9 defeats in the last 10 matches that they played as a visitor.
In this competition, they lost the last 6 away matches. His defense has not been very solid, as he suffered at least one goal in each of the last 10 matches for this competition. In 29 matches in this tournament, he suffered the first goal 15 times and never got the comeback. In the last 15 away matches for this competition there is 1 period that stands out: they have scored 7 of their 12 goals between minutes (0’‑ 15 ‘).
Bournemouth are highly motivated, after a good 4-1 win at Leicester: Stanislas, Solanke and Evans (own goal) scored the winning goals. Unlike the rival of this match, Bournemouth is expected to act in a tactical system at 4-4-2, with the aim of trying to control the game and attack in a more organized way. Therefore, we believe that it will adopt a more defensive posture, with the objective of not granting spaces to its rival. Coach Eddie Howe should have all the players available for this day.
