Date/Time: Saturday 2nd March 2019 (Kick-off 4:00 PM CET).
Over the last couple of months there have not been too many times Manchester City have played before Liverpool and Pep Guardiola will want to avoid the pitfalls that occurred the last time these two leading clubs were playing on consecutive days.
At the end of January Manchester City visited Newcastle United twenty-four hours before Liverpool were going to host Leicester City and were beaten 2-1 at St James' Park which looked to have handed the title initiative to Liverpool.
A stumble from the leaders have allowed Manchester City back in and they will be keen to give Liverpool something to think about by moving to the top of the table. Avoiding defeat will be enough for Manchester City, but the players know they need to put a strong winning run together to test the Liverpool resolve and so anything less than a win would be seen as a negative result.
Bournemouth have been strong at home and deserve respect after crushing Chelsea 4-0 a few weeks ago. They have struggled to some heavy losses away from home since then, but Bournemouth have continued to produce their best at the Vitality Stadium which makes this a tough game for the defending Champions.
However I can't ignore the fact that Bournemouth don't have a great record against the very best Premier League sides. Yes they beat Chelsea who capitulated in the second half, but David Brooks and Callum Wilson are both missing and both Dominic Solanke and Junior Stanislas likely to be sidelined too means attacking options are restricted for the home team.
Add in the fact that Bournemouth's 3 home losses this season have come against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool and the point about their ability against the top teams is underlined. Only Liverpool won easily, but Arsenal had the chances to win by a higher margin than they did and I do expect Manchester City to get more spaces in this one than they may have done against West Ham United.
If they bring their shooting boots I do think Manchester City can win this one and throw down the gauntlet for Liverpool who head to Goodison Park on Sunday. I expect Manchester City can win by at least two goals here with the way Bournemouth have been defending and I will look for them to cover the Asian Handicap.
Prediction: Manchester City - 1.75 Asian Handicap
T&Cs apply.
