Man City vs Bournemouth prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats

Seb Sternik 20 May 2025 9:13 AM

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Man City will be looking to shake off their Wembley blues when they take on Bournemouth in a game with huge top five implications.

City’s European future hangs in the balance as the battle for Champions League qualification goes down to the wire, with third-placed Newcastle and seventh-placed Nottingham Forest separated by just one point.

Pep Guardiola’s men, who sit sixth ahead of Tuesday’s visit of Bournemouth, could do their Champions League hopes a world of good with a win over the Cherries. Even a point would take them back into the top five ahead of the final matchday.

Missing out on top-flight European football would be disastrous for the Citizens who have just tasted FA Cup final defeat for the second season running.

Losing to Crystal Palace at Wembley consigned City to a trophyless season – their first since Guardiola’s first campaign at the Etihad back in 2016/17.

Putting their final woes behind them and beating Bournemouth is a lot easier said than done. The Cherries won the reverse fixture back in November and have an unprecedented opportunity to do a league double over Guardiola’s men.

This has already been a historic season for Andoni Iraola’s side, with Bournemouth accumulating the most top-flight points in the club’s history.

If that wasn’t enough, the Cherries started the month of May by completing a season double over Arsenal and they will now be looking to do the same against Man City.

Winning away at the Etihad would put Bournemouth in good company considering the only two other teams to do that in 2025 are Liverpool and Real Madrid.

However, in order to seal that potentially historic season double, the Cherries will have to overcome their woeful record at the ground – one which currently stands at eight straight defeats, including a 6-1 hammering last time out.

Man City vs Bournemouth prediction

Manchester City’s season could yet go from bad to catastrophic should the former Premier League champions fail to get their act together in these final two matches.

The pressure is firmly on City’s shoulders in this one, but with the hosts boasting a solid run of results on home soil, they will certainly fancy their chances.

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Guardiola’s men are unbeaten in six games at the Etihad across all competitions – including an ongoing run of four straight victories.

Bournemouth, on the other hand, have only picked up one victory away from home in their last five attempts. Then again, that one win did come against Arsenal.

In terms of specific players to watch, Kevin De Bruyne is the one. This will be the final home game for the Belgian star before his departure, and he will be looking to mark his send-off in style.

With seven goal contributions in 12 games against Bournemouth, it’s fair to say the midfielder has caused the Cherries problems in the past.

And if you fancy any of our predictions below to come true, you can back them here.

Man City team news

Man City’s injury list currently contains Rodri, Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and John Stones. Mateo Kovacic was a recent addition to that list, picking up a knock just before the FA Cup final.

Kevin De Bruyne should start in his final home game for City, while the likes of Matheus Nunes, Nico Gonzalez and Phil Foden will also vie for a starting place.

Rico Lewis and James McAtee were omitted from the FA Cup final squad but could feature this Tuesday night.

Man City expected line-up

Bournemouth team news

Bournemouth are without Alex Scott who was left with a nasty facial injury after a clash with Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings last weekend.

Scott joins an injury list which also contains Enes Unal, Ryan Christie, Dango Ouattara and Luis Sinisterra.

With Scott out of action, Justin Kluivert is set to start in his position. Dean Huijsen should also start despite being snapped up by Real Madrid in a £50m deal.