On the heels of back-to-back draws, and with just two wins in their last five across all competitions, Manchester City is certainly off their game right now.
At the end of today’s score draw at RB Leipzig, manager Pep Guardiola said he gathered his side together on the pitch because he was disappointed in the lack or morale that their body language conveyed.
Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth FYIs
Kick: 5:30 pm Saturday, Feb 25, The Vitality Stadium
Team News for Both Sides: go here
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Form Manchester City DWWLW Bournemouth WDLDL
PL Standings Manchester City 2nd, 52 pts Bournemouth 17th, 21 pts
Google Result Probability: Manchester City win 76% Draw 15% Bournemouth win 9%
Guardiola said he was happy with the result today, and that it was no cause for concern. The players heads were down, and Pep felt they should have been more upbeat than that.
“They were heads down,” said Guardiola.
“I said ‘why are you heads down, be heads up, it was really good the way you play.’ If people don’t like it it doesn’t matter.
“The game was really good. We played how we should play. In general we don’t have the team to compete in transitions, they are faster and quicker. We don’t have the pace. We had control in the first half, set pieces were close. We have a game in Manchester and we’ll see who wins.”
It’s interesting that City are not killing it right now given how they have few fitness concerns.
With that in mind, Guardiola can go a lot of ways with filling out his team sheet. He’s been using an unconventional 3-2-4-1 formation lately, so we’ll keep to that here.
Manchester City Starting XI Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth
Ederson; Akanji, Ake, Dias; Rodri, De Bruyne; Walker, Grealish, Gundogan, Foden; Haaland
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.