Preview: Bournemouth vs. Manchester City

Catalan battles Basque in the pick of this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals, where Andoni Iraola‘s Bournemouth host Pep Guardiola‘s Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium.

The Cherries sank Wolverhampton Wanderers on spot kicks in the last 16 to advance to the final eight, while the reigning champions of England survived a huge scare against Plymouth Argyle to prevail 3-1.

Match preview

© Imago

A tall, blonde-haired player opening the scoring at the Etihad Stadium is nothing new, but rather than Erling Haaland breaking the deadlock in Man City’s FA Cup battle with Plymouth Argyle, towering defender Maksym Taloverov threatened the latest giant killing with his first-half header.

However, up stepped Nico O’Reilly to save the Citizens’ bacon, as the makeshift left-back equalised on the stroke of half time and bagged a second header for himself in the closing stages, before Kevin De Bruyne erased any doubt in the 90th minute.

Slaying the second-tier strugglers was very much a case of job done for Manchester City, who are undoubtedly the most feared team left in the FA Cup even in their current state, as their exceptional quarter-final record speaks for itself.

Indeed, Guardiola’s men have triumphed in each of their last seven FA Cup quarter-final ties, and the Sky Blues have progressed to the semi-finals of the tournament in each of the last six campaigns, a feat that no other team in England has ever managed.

The comeback success over Plymouth marks City’s most recent victory in all tournaments, though, as Guardiola’s men returned to their mediocre ways in a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest and 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League, although their fifth-placed ranking will likely still suffice for Champions League football courtesy of England’s superior UEFA coefficient.

© Imago

Harbouring Champions League aspirations of their own for a short while, Bournemouth can likely forget about having the famous anthem boom out of the Vitality Stadium sound system next term, having lost their golden touch before the two-week hiatus.

Between November 30 and January 25, the Cherries avoided defeat in each of their 12 games across all competitions, but Iraola has now overseen four losses from his side’s last eight matches, including a 2-1 home reverse to away-day specialists Brentford last time out.

The 10th-placed hosts are not out of the top-seven picture by any means, though, and a ticket to the Europa League will be theirs if they can pull off a magnificent underdog story in the FA Cup, where they endeavour to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history.

Twice before have Bournemouth competed at this stage of the tournament, and twice have they been put to the sword, firstly being bested 2-1 by Manchester United in 1957 before succumbing to a 3-0 defeat to Southampton during the 2020-21 edition.

However, Iraola’s troops have earned their right to be here courtesy of a 5-1 pummelling of West Bromwich Albion, 2-0 beating of Everton and engrossing penalty-shootout win over Wolves, who had a Matheus Cunha meltdown to partially thank for their last-16 heartbreak.

Never before have Bournemouth and Man City butted heads in the FA Cup, but speaking of firsts, the Cherries’ 2-1 top-flight win over Guardiola’s men in November marked their inaugural victory against the Sky Blues, whose customary trip to Wembley is far from a guarantee.

Bournemouth FA Cup form:

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

Manchester City FA Cup form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

© Imago

City return from the international period with an almost identical group of players, as Rodri (ACL), John Stones (thigh), Nathan Ake (foot) and Manuel Akanji (abductor) are still sidelined, while Oscar Bobb has finally returned to action for the youth team but may not be risked in senior action yet.

Guardiola was at least able to deliver one piece of good news in his pre-game press conference, as first-choice goalkeeper Ederson is set to be available following an abdominal concern, and the knock that Josko Gvardiol sustained on Croatia duty does not appear to be serious.

O’Reilly certainly made his case to start at left-back in the triumph over Plymouth, though, while Haaland spearheads the charge on the back of hitting 100 goal involvements in the Premier League during the draw with Brighton, unsurprisingly doing so in record time in just 94 appearances.

On Bournemouth’s side, Iraola will be bemoaning the absence of two of his most integral performers, as in-demand defensive duo Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen are both suspended on account of picking up two yellow cards in this season’s FA Cup.

Julio Soler should be a like-for-like replacement for Kerkez at left-back, and Iraola might be able to swap out Huijsen for a fit-again Marcos Senesi, who will make the squad but will not be playing the full 90, his manager has confirmed.

James Hill and Ilya Zabarnyi should pair up from the first whistle, though, while Adam Smith (calf), Julian Araujo (thigh), Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) and Enes Unal (knee) are still out of the picture for the time being.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Cook, Hill, Zabarnyi, Soler; Christie, Adams; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson

We say: Bournemouth 2-3 Manchester City

Attack may be the best form of defence for Guardiola and Iraola on Sunday, as both managers are dealing with ravaged rearguards but possess enviable talent in the final third ready to do some damage.

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