Bournemouth vs Manchester City predictions: Premier League tips, betting odds & free bets

Bournemouth vs Manchester City tips

• Manchester City to win and over 2.5 Goals – 17/20 with William Hill
• Phil Foden to score any time – 21/10 with BetGoodwin
• Under 3.5 cards – 6/5 with bet365

With Liverpool contesting the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday, Manchester City have a fantastic opportunity to close the gap at the top of the table to a single point when they visit Bournemouth on Saturday evening (5.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event). 

It’s also an important game for the reigning champions in light of what is to follow. After their visit to the Vitality Stadium, City’s next five league games see them face Manchester United, Liverpool, Brighton, Arsenal and Aston Villa. It’s undoubtedly the toughest spell they have left to face this season.

Three points are therefore a must for Pep Guardiola’s side and football betting sites are confident they will get them.

City to win and score plenty

Bournemouth are having such a strange campaign. Winless in their first nine games, the Cherries only had Sheffield United keeping them off the foot of the Premier League in late October. 

They then won seven and drew one of their next nine games, making them the best team in the division for that period. So, naturally, they have since gone six without a victory and it would be a huge surprise to UK betting sites and football fans alike if that streak ended here. 

Like most teams, Bournemouth will be sick of the sight of City. However, the Cherries have taken this to an extreme. They have won none of their 19 league games against the Citizens, the most any side has faced another without a victory in the history of the English football league.

The recent defeats have been particularly heavy too. Since Bournemouth were promoted to the top flight in 2022, the three meetings have ended 4-0, 4-1 and 6-1 in City’s favour.

Aside from having had slightly longer to prepare, with City beating Brentford 1-0 on Tuesday, it’s hard to think of any aspect which helps the home side and the Premier League odds for this fixture reflect that. 

The Citizens are only missing a couple of players through injury, barely making a dent on the most expensively assembled squad in the Premier League. 

But while an away win looks highly likely, there’s no value in a straight bet on that outcome on gambling sites. We can be confident there will be several goals and not just because there usually is when these teams play.

Bournemouth have lost 10 league games this season and only one of them did not go over 2.5 goals. As City won all five of their away matches against sides currently below the Cherries and there were at least three goals every time, the stars are certainly aligning for another goal-heavy defeat for Andoni Iraola’s team.

However, City repeating Tottenham’s 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium is certainly possible. They have been wasteful in their last two games, drawing 1-1 with Chelsea and only beating Brentford 1-0. But as they’re creating chances galore, we can be confident of there being at least three goals here, particularly as Bournemouth play in a high-pressing, slightly open fashion.

Bournemouth vs Manchester City Tip 1: Manchester City to win and over 2.5 Goals – 17/20 with William Hill

Foden to continue fine form

Phil Foden’s career history suggests that Bournemouth are his favourite opponent. He has faced them five times and in three of the games he both scored and assisted. 

With a goal at the Etihad Stadium the last time these clubs faced off, Foden has had just one game against the Cherries in which he didn’t make a goal contribution. He approaches them in the form of his career on this occasion too.

Foden has six goals and four assists in his last 10 appearances in all competitions. He scored and assisted in the Champions League victory in Copenhagen last week and got a hattrick in Brentford when City were last on the road in the Premier League. 

The City number 47 didn’t score in the last two matches, but with nine shots in those games Foden’s next goal should be along soon. 

Bournemouth vs Manchester City Tip 2: Phil Foden to score any time – 21/10 with BetGoodwin

Good, clean, family fun

Yellow cards have rocketed in the Premier League this season and the referee for this match, Jarred Gillett, has been booking far more players than before.

But despite doing so, he’s below average for the three years he’s been officiating in the top flight, having shown 3.5 yellow cards per game. Gillett has officiated two City matches so far this season (and none for Bournemouth), issuing three cautions when they won at Sheffield United and just one in the victory at Brentford. 

These teams rarely see many cards when they meet – there was just one in the reverse fixture – and there’s one other fact which suggests a low total on Saturday: no team in the Premier League has received fewer bookings at home than Bournemouth and none has fewer on the road than City. This combination of teams makes under 3.5 cards worthy of consideration when looking at this game on betting apps.

Bournemouth vs Manchester City Tip 3: Under 3.5 cards – 6/5 with bet365

Get a free bet on Bournemouth vs Manchester City

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