This is a Manchester City predicted lineup for their crucial Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth. Fresh off FA Cup heartbreak, City welcome the Cherries to the Etihad Stadium in a must-win game in their race for Champions League qualification. Despite some excellent runs of form at points this season, Andoni Iraola’s side currently find themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table. The visitors will be looking to pick up yet another victory against a big six team to keep their chances of qualifying for European competition next season alive.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup vs AFC Bournemouth
How Manchester City Have Lined Up Recently
Stefan Ortega Moreno took Ederson’s place in the starting XI for the FA Cup final. This was somewhat of a surprise as Pep Guardiola had consistently preferred to start the Brazilian in goal when fit since the March international break.
The Catalan once again changed his defence as Ruben Dias was the only defender to play in the same position against both Southampton and Palace. Manuel Akanji shuffled across to right-back and Josko Gvardiol was reunited with Dias at centre-back. Nico O’Reilly, one of the stars of the FA Cup this season, came back into the starting lineup for the final, taking the place of Rico Lewis, who was omitted from the squad entirely.
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City fielded an ultra-attacking lineup at Wembley as Bernardo Silva was used as a deep-lying midfielder. City’s captain Kevin de Bruyne lined up alongside the Portuguese midfielder in a more withdrawn role, one in which his manager has not previously utilised him. This was partly due to an injury to Matteo Kovacic which meant that the Croat also missed out on the matchday squad for the final.
Fans finally got their wish as both Jeremy Doku and Savinho started on the wings, replacing Phil Foden and James McAtee. Neither of the Englishmen had particularly impressive outings against Southampton and McAtee was dropped from the squad completely, thereby allowing Argentine wonderkid Claudio Echeverri to make his first appearance for City off the bench.
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Omar Marmoush came into the starting lineup in place of Kovacic and Erling Haaland made his 140th appearance for City as he led the line alongside his Egyptian strike partner.
Manchester City’s Recent Form and Tactics
After a disappointing result against Southampton, fans were excited when City’s starting eleven was revealed on Saturday. However, the Cityzens failed to find the back of the net despite having six very talented attacking players on the pitch. Saturday’s result meant that City have gone trophyless in a season for the first time since Guardiola’s first term in Manchester.
Although the defeat was City’s first since before the March international break, the last two results have seen an increase in nervous tension amongst fans. Guardiola’s men now have two relatively tricky games, against Bournemouth and Fulham, which they need to win if they are to secure Champions League football for next campaign.
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Guardiola’s tactical system on Saturday also shocked many. The Catalan employed what was essentially a 4-2-4 formation, with two very attack-minded, though defensively hardworking, midfielders making up the midfield pairing. It was one of the most offensive lineups City have ever played, but it also highlighted Guardiola’s lack of trust in Nico Gonzalez, whom the club spent a considerable sum of money on in January. Many also questioned the inclusion of Akanji over Matheus Nunes, who has been in excellent form recently.
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The City manager also made an extreme statement by taking two homegrown, fan-favourite players out of the squad: Lewis and McAtee. For McAtee, it is perhaps a signal that it is time for the 22-year-old to move on. He has seemingly never fully regained the favour of Guardiola after going out on loan to Sheffield United for two seasons, and the Catalan had no qualms about using Echeverri in midfield, something which he has been hesitant to do with McAtee.
Manchester City Injuries to Consider
Guardiola offered a very vague injury update on City’s five injured players in his pre-match news conference.
The Catalan merely said that “some players are better” before specifically citing Rodri’s condition as improving day by day. It is likely that the City manager is keeping his cards close to his chest as he does not want to give the opposition any advantages heading into such a crucial game.
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However, it is well-known that Rodri, Nathan Ake and Oscar Bobb have been in team training over the past two weeks meaning that they will hopefully be ready to come back into the matchday squad soon. Omitting Kovacic from the squad for the FA Cup final was due to a precaution rather than a definite injury meaning that the former Real Madrid man may return to action against the Cherries.
As for John Stones, it seems likely that the Englishman will miss Tuesday’s game. Guardiola has not provided any updates on the centre-back in over a month.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Crystal Palace
GK: Ederson
RB: Matheus Nunes
CB: Ruben Dias
CB: Josko Gvardiol
LB: Nico O’Reilly
CM: Ilkay Gundogan
CM: Matteo Kovacic
CM: Kevin De Bruyne
RW: Bernardo Silva
LW: Jeremy Doku
ST: Erling Haaland
Featured Image Credits
Manchester City Predicted Lineup vs Southampton for May 10
IMAGO / PRiME Media Images
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola nervously watches on during the FA Cup match between Manchester City and Salford City at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England on 11 January 2025. PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK Copyright: xTomxPearsonx PMI-6644-0089