"They won't have anything else to celebrate" - Chris Sutton makes score prediction for Bournemouth vs Manchester City
Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has predixted the result of Manchester City's Premier League trip to Bournemouth on Saturday (February 24).
Pep Guardiola's side are coming off a slender 1-0 home win over Brentford in midweek to remain second in the standings, four behind Liverpool (60) who have played a game more.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth drew 2-2 at Newcastle United in the league at the weekend. With 28 points from 25 games, they are 13th in the points table, eight clear of the drop zone.
Ahead of their meeting with City, Sutton noted that the Cityzens weren't at their most convincing against Brentford but emerged with a win nonetheless. He wrote in his column for BBC:
"Manchester City were a bit ugly in their win over Brentford on Tuesday night, but they got the job done in the end. I can see something similar happening here, with City having to fight for it but finding a way to win.
Predicting a 3-1 win for Guardiola's side, he concluded:
"Bournemouth have not won since Boxing Day, but they were unlucky not to beat Newcastle last week, and they don't appear to be in any relegation danger. I can see them scoring against City, but they won't have anything else to celebrate."
City are unbeaten in 16 games across competitions - winning 14- since losing 1-0 at Aston Villa in the league in December.
What's next for Manchester City after Bournemouth game?
Manchester City are in the midst of another superb campaign. Following their treble-winning 2022-23 season, Pep Guardiola's side are looking to becoming the first side ever to accomplish back-to-back trebles.
A win at Bournemouth will put them within a point of leaders Liverpool with 12 games to go. Following that game, City travel to Luton Town on Tuesday (February 27) for an FA Cup fifth-round tie.
Guardiola's side will also continue their Champions League title defence when they host FC Copenhagen on March 6, having won the first leg 3-1 in Denmark last week.