Bournemouth vs Manchester City Preview: Haaland's Proof

Jakarta, Beritasatu.com – Defending champions Manchester City are trying to maintain their chances of retaining the Premier League title this season, by visiting the Vitality Stadium, home of AFC Bournemouth, in the continuation of the 2023/2024 Premier League, Saturday (24/2/2024) evening local time or Sunday (25/2 /2024) early morning WIB.

The Citizen's winning streak of 11 consecutive matches was stopped when they drew 1-1 with Chelsea last weekend. In the next home match which took place in the middle of this week, City also only narrowly won 1-0 against visiting Brentford.

The victory keeps City four points away from leaders Liverpool and one point ahead of Arsenal.

Erling Haaland's goal in the 70th minute was the only goal against Brentford. Haaland has now scored a goal against all the teams he has faced in the Premier League (21 clubs). He is the second player to succeed in doing the same thing, after Harry Kane, who has scored 34 goals for the English team.

Another record, City has never lost in 34 Premier League matches when Haaland scored a goal. In the away match against Bournemouth, the Norwegian bomber had to prove his sharpness again, when his performance was considered unstable after recovering from a long injury. Moreover, in the last two away matches, Haaland failed to find the back of the home team's goal.

Apart from Haaland, the spotlight is also on Phil Foden, who has scored in his last three appearances against Bournemouth. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne, who has also just recovered from a hamstring injury, has contributed seven goals (three goals, four assists) in his last nine matches against The Cherries, nicknamed Bournemouth.

Bournemouth, who is currently ranked 13th in the standings, has not won in the last six matches in the Premier League. They will face a challenge against City, who have a perfect record with 13 wins from their previous 13 meetings.

The Vitality Stadium is also a comfortable venue for City, who have won eight of their nine away games against Bournemouth since 1999. Guardiola himself has never lost in 12 meetings with Bournemouth, with an aggregate score of 37-7.

Estimated line-up:
AFC Bournemouth (4-2-3-1): Net; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kelly; Christie, Cook; Semenyo, Kluivert, Sinisterra; Solanke

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland