Bournemouth vs Manchester City predictions: Citizens to come good on the south coast
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- Bournemouth have never reached the FA Cup semi-finals
- Man City have appeared in the last two finals of the competition
- Recommended bet: Manchester City to win
Manchester City will be looking to exact revenge on Bournemouth for November's Premier League defeat when the pair meet at the Vitality Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
The Citizens went down 2-1 on the south coast, a scoreline that flattered the visitors that day given how dominant the hosts were, but Pep Guardiola's side have the chance to redeem themselves by reaching the semi-finals of the cup.
Team news
Bournemouth remain without Adam Smith, Enes Unal and Luis Sinisterra due to injury, but Julian Araujo and Marcos Senesi both returned to training before the international break and the duo could be in contention.
Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, John Stones and Rodri are all on the sidelines for City, who are also sweating over the fitness of Bernardo Silva and Oscar Bobb.
Ederson had abdominal issues that forced him to miss the Brighton draw before the international break and he remains a doubt for this contest.
The stats
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Bournemouth are appearing in the FA Cup quarter-finals for just the third time, having lost at this stage in 1957 to Manchester United and in 2021 against Southampton.
The Cherries have won just one of their last five games in all competitions with that victory a penalty shootout success against Wolves in the last round.
Andoni Iraola's side have lost three of their last four home assignments, going down to Liverpool, Wolves and Brentford.
City are bidding to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the seventh season in a row.
The Citizens have made it to the final of the last two editions, beating Manchester United in the 2023 final before being beaten by the Red Devils 12 months later.
Prediction
Bournemouth's improvement under Iraola has been clear to see and November's 2-1 victory at home against City was testament to the work the Spanish tactician is doing.
However, the Cherries are in the middle of a sticky patch heading into this fixture and the pressure of challenging for a European finish in the Premier League is appearing to take its toll on the squad.
While it has not been the season City would have envisaged, they are still right in the mix for a top-four finish and they have started to pick up of late, winning two, drawing one and losing one of their last four matches in all competitions.
Although that is not sparkling form, it is better than what Bournemouth have been managing of late and the Citizens are hard to ignore to pick up the away win at generous odds.
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