Bournemouth Vs Manchester City: Keep The Record Amid Player Injuries

Striker Erling Haaland is the mainstay of Manchester City against Bournemouth. (X/@ManCity)

JAKARTA - Manchester City are not at all affected by the failure in the Carabao Cup which is no longer a priority for manager Pep Guardiola. Man City also hopes to maintain an unbeaten record when they play an away match against Bournemouth in the English Premier League at Vitality Stadium, Saturday, November 2, 2924 evening WIB.

The English League Cup or Carabao Cup is no longer important for Guardiola. When playing the last 16 against Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola did not field the best squad. Moreover, many players are injured so that the rotation of players is not optimal,

The result was predictable, Man City had to admit Tottenham's lead 2-1. The defeat indeed tarnished the Cityzens' charming record.

However, the unbeaten record for 32 Man City matches is still maintained. This achievement led them to defend last season's Premier League title and is now perched at the top of the standings with point 23. A point lead from Liverpool who are in second place.

Erling Haaland et al also have the opportunity to extend their unbeaten record. Moreover, they had a very good record in meeting Bournemouth. Of the 14 meetings in the Premier League, Man City has always won the game. They set a 100% record by scoring 45 goals and only conceded five goals.

This shows Bournemouth is no more than a very light opponent for Man City. And, it was difficult for Andoni Iraola's team to take points even though they played at home.

In that match, Man City actually couldn't perform with the best squad. Guardiola lost the mainstay player again when Savinho had an ankle injury in the match against Tottenham. Savinho also followed captain Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish who had already pulled over because they had not recovered from injury.

In addition, Manuel Akanji could not appear because he was not fit. Meanwhile, Rodri and Oscar Bobb will be absent for a long period of time. Josko Gvardiol's defender actually also suffered a minor injury. If fit, he will start in that match.

"I lost a lot of players. There are half players who have doubts about appearing. This condition is actually often experienced in many clubs. So we have to be able to deal with it," said Guardiola.

"I told the players not to regret what they experienced. What is clear is that we are still playing with 11 players," he said again.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth hopes to break their bad record every time they meet Man City. Bournemouth, who is currently ranked 11th with 12 points, also has good capital because he managed to get points against the two top teams.

They unexpectedly beat Arsenal 2-0. This is Arsenal's first defeat in the competition this season. Furthermore, Evanilson et al detained Aston Villa 1-1.

Iraola was actually a bit bothered by the player's injury that hit the squad. In fact, he was forced to keep down Kepa goalkeeper Arrizabalaga who had a thigh injury. On the other hand, Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra are definitely absent.

However, Bournemouth can still rely on Evanilson as a center forward. He was supported by Patrick Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo and Marcus Tavernier.

The line of defense initiated by veteran defender Adam Smith will be the focus to reduce the Man City corrugation attack.

In addition, Kepa is expected to show his best performance in order to avoid the goal of conceding. However, Bournemouth still doesn't easily serve Man City who is on fire.

Bournemouth Lineup Forecast (4-2-3-1): Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Senesi, Kerkez; Cook, Christie; Semenyo, Tavernier, Kluiver; Evanilson

Manchester City (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Bernardo, Gundogan, Foden, Nunes; Haaland