It was in 2016-17 that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola first took the reigns in his current position. They didn’t win a trophy that season, but won at least one piece of silverware, every season afterward, up until this one. Yes, the Man City/Pep trophy streak comes to an end in 2024-25, but what an impressive and glorious run it was. Crystal Palace shocked City, as well as the rest of the football world, with that 1-0 victory at Wembley Stadium yesterday. But City can’t ruminate on it for too long, and AFC Bournemouth comes to town on Tuesday night.
Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth
Kickoff: Tue May 20, 8pm, Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Man City Preview Material: Starting Lineup Prediction Team News
Premier League Standing, Form: AFC Bournemouth 10th, 53 pts, WDDWL Manchester City 6th, 65 pts, WWWWD
Google Result Probability: AFC Bournemouth win 17% Draw 20% Manchester City win 63%
City need this midweek W in order to move towards clinching a top five finish/UEFA Champions League qualification for next season.
Also, all the credit in the world to Crystal Palace. This is their first major trophy, in their 120-year history, so this is a massive moment for them. In terms of projecting the lineup on Tuesday night, Mateo Kovacic was a late scratch before the FA Cup Final, with a knock of some sort.
Will he be ready for this clash?
Manchester City Starting Lineup Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth
Ederson; Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly; Nico Gonzalez, Ilkay Gundogan; Savinho, Kevin De Bruyne, Omar Marmoush; Erling Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter