The Enzo Maresca era, at least of Premier League play, begins on Sunday when Manchester City host AFC Bournemouth. The Sky Blues are coming off a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal this past Sunday, so Man City can’t wait to wash the taste of that defeat out their mouth.
Maresca badly needs to put his best foot forward and lead with strength here.
Premier League Season Opener FYIs
Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth
Kickoff: Sunday, Aug. 23, 2pm GMT
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, United Kingdom
Result Probabilities According to Google: Manchester City Win 65% a Draw 19% Bournemouth Win 16%
Manchester City Preview Material: Predicted XI Team News
Maresca and City need a result to raise morale after that dismal showing in the curtain raiser, and Bournemouth are a tough out, to say the least. They ended the last Premier League season without a defeat in their last 18 matches. After January 3, they closed out the campaign on a streak that saw them take at least a point or better from every league fixture.
So with that unbeaten run remaining alive as we start the new campaign, Maresca must pick his strongest side possible.
He’s dealing with four injury concerns at the moment, although half of those four are really more of “could be transferred to another team soon” (Savinho, Omar Marmoush) worries than they are injury issues.
Manchester City Predicted XI vs AFC Bournemouth
Gianluigi Donnarumma; Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly; Mateo Kovacic, Elliott Anderson; Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki; 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, Ratings and RG. 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 and the Washington Post.