Manchester City host Bournemouth at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, August 23 (9:00 AM ET \/ 8:00 AM CT \/ 6:00 AM PT).<\/p>\n
Manchester City have a clean bill of health for this one, with Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku, Nico O’Reilly and Tijjani Reijnders all in line to feature after productive campaigns in front of goal last season. Bournemouth’s situation is far more strained: the injured Eli Kroupi, their leading scorer last season, is out, along with the suspended Ryan Christie, the injured Julian Araujo, the injured Veljko Milosavljevic and the sidelined Amine Adli, while David Brooks, Tyler Adams, Julio Soler and Alvaro Rodriguez are all doubts. That leaves Antoine Semenyo, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson to carry Bournemouth’s attacking threat instead.<\/p>\n
With the season just underway, this is as much about first impressions as anything else, and the gap between the group City can call upon and Bournemouth’s stretched options points one way. Expect City to dominate the ball and create the better chances, with Bournemouth’s front three offering a route back into it if any doors are left open \u2014 the kind of game that should produce goals at both ends rather than a shutout.<\/p>\n\n\n