Bournemouth v Manchester City - The Opposition

Manchester City look to get back to winning ways as they visit relegation-threatened Bournemouth on Saturday. The blues have drawn their last two matches since winning 3-1 at Arsenal, which has seen them once again lose ground on leaders Arsenal.

Bournemouth are in a precarious position in their first season back in the Premier League and are desperate for the three points to keep their heads above West Ham, Leeds and Southampton in the battle to avoid the drop.

Form

The Cherries finally got their first win of 2023 when they beat Wolves 1-0 last weekend. In fact, that was Bournemouth’s first victory since a 3-0 home win over Everton in the final round of matches before the World Cup.

From the ten games played since then, Bournemouth have lost seven matches in all competitions and drawing just two. In the Premier League, they picked up just one point before the win at Wolves.

Bournemouth have picked up just five Premier League wins this season and, with the worst goal difference in the league, are just one defeat from the bottom of the table - if the teams below them all win. They have won three and lost four of their 11 home matches so far. In addition to the win over Everton, they have beaten Leicester 2-1 (October) and Aston Villa 2-0 (August). They have kept four clean sheets at home, with two of those ending in victory.

They have drawn their last two home matches (both 1-1) and lost the previous home match 2-0 to Crystal Palace. Bournemouth have scored just 11 goals at home, the third worst in the league, and have conceded 12, the best defence from the lower eight teams.

Ones to Watch

Despite Bournemouth’s lowly position, they remain a threat to the blues defence that has looked shaky in the last few weeks. A four-way race to become top scorer is currently being run between Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing, Jaidon Anthony and Kieffer Moore. All are on four goals apiece and have contrasting conversion rates and shot accuracies. With 12%, Solanke has the worst goal conversion rate of the four with Billing having the best (25%). Anthony has the best shot accuracy with 67% while Moore is gaining an average rate of each.

Anthony looks the more dangerous of the four, averaging a goal every 290 minutes and 0.31 goals every 90 minutes. He was the last out of the four to score when he hit the opener in a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest. Moore last scored in the 3-0 win over Everton while Billing and Solanke both score in the 4-3 defeat at Leeds.

Solanke and Marcus Tavernier lead the way on the assist chart with both being accredited with four. Tavernier has created 11 chances and Solanke just seven. Tavernier has the better pass accuracy of the two with 76% to Solanke’s 70%.

Lewis Cook has created the most chances with 20, although just two have been converted. he has also attempted the most passes with 737, 602 being completed and has the highest pass accuracy rate of the Cherries regulars with 82%.

Who’s The Boss?

Former Portsmouth midfielder Gary O’Neill is the man at the helm. He joined the Cherries as Senior First Team Coach in February 2021 and took the reigns Scott Parker was sacked in August 2022.

Bournemouth is O’Neill’s first managerial appointment and after 22 matches in charge, he has secured five wins and 11 losses, giving him a win ratio of just 23%.

Last Time

City thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 in August, but they managed to keep Erling Haaland quiet and limit him to just eight touches throughout the match. Last time the two met at Bournemouth, the blues ran out 3-1 winners in August 2019. A Sergio Aguero brace and a Raheem Sterling goal secured the three points for the blues.