manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Man City lineup vs Bournemouth predicted as Rayan Cherki starts and huge Rodri call made

Manchester City visit Bournemouth in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

Rodri of Manchester City after the FA Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley

Rodri could be handed a start for Manchester City against Bournemouth

View Image

Manchester City have a fully-fit squad to choose from as they prepare for the final two Premier League games of the campaign.

The Blues visit Bournemouth on Tuesday night knowing nothing less than a win will hand Arsenal the title after the Gunners beat Burnley 1-0 at the Emirates on Monday evening.

That result lifted Mikel Arteta's side five points clear of City ahead of their final day trip to Crystal Palace. City conclude with a home game against Aston Villa and need six points from their remaining matches to stand any chance of the title.

Pep Guardiola's side travel to the south coast just days after winning the FA Cup but significant changes are not expected for what is a must-win game.

Gianluigi Donnarumma will return in goal in place of cup keeper James Trafford but the back four could well be the same as it was at Wembley with Abdukodir Khusanov and Marc Guehi in the middle and Matheus Nunes and Nico O'Reilly either side.

The big decision comes in midfield and who to partner Bernardo Silva in the centre. Rodri played an hour in the cup final and could be handed another start with the idea of playing a further 60 minutes to try and offer City the control that so far Nico Gonzalez and Tijjani Reijnders have been unable to in recent weeks. Phil Foden impressed in a deeper role against Crystal Palace and is another option.

One change that could happen is restoring Rayan Cherki to the XI after his second half showing against Chelsea. Cup final match-winner Antoine Semenyo and Jeremy Doku can provide the width and Erling Haaland will start through the middle.

City predicted XI vs Bournemouth: Donnarumma, Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O'Reilly; Rodri, Bernardo, Cherki; Semenyo, Doku, Haaland

Read full news in source page