Bournemouth vs Manchester City 25/08/19

25 August 2019

Two sides that have had identical returns from the opening two Premier League (PL) fixtures (W1, D1) go head-to-head at the Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth take on Manchester City.

The hosts have enjoyed a promising start to the season having played out a 1-1 home draw with Sheffield United before beating Aston Villa 2-1 on the road. Backed by recent success, they will now try to snap a disastrous record against the reigning PL holders. The Cherries have lost all eight of their PL H2Hs with Manchester City, seven of which have seen them concede over 1.5 match goals. What’s more, Boscombe have scored just one goal in their previous four home league clashes with the Citizens, conceding nine in the process. Another potential worry for Eddie Howe is that his team has pulled off just one triumph in their last eight PL home games (W1, D3, L3), scoring one goal or less across six of those outings.

Meanwhile, the visitors have thrashed West Ham 5-0 on the road in the opening matchday before being held to a 2-2 home draw by Tottenham last time out. It was the first time since a 2-1 away loss to Newcastle back in January that Manchester City conceded more than one goal per PL match. Still, no PL side has secured more league away triumphs than City (eight consecutive) since the turn of the year, six of which have been accompanied by a clean sheet. Additionally, four of their last six PL away wins have seen the Citizens lead at the halftime break after scoring the opener inside the opening 30 minutes of the game.