Manchester City Must Beat Bournemouth To Keep Premier League Title Race Alive

Tonight could be the night that Arsenal win the Premier League for the first time in 24 years. Arsenal supporters from all over the world will be watching Pep Guardiola’s side take on Bournemouth with the hope of the Blues dropping points.

After the Gunners dispatched Burnley 1-0 last night, City must win tonight to take the Premier League title race to the final day.

City have already won two trophies this season, picking up the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this campaign. With many reports saying that Guardiola will be leaving Manchester at the end of this season, a domestic treble would be a fitting way for the Spaniard to depart.

January signing Antoine Semenyo’s strike in the second half against Chelsea proved decisive in the FA Cup Final, handing Guardiola his 20th major honour as City boss. The Catalan boss is the first-ever manager to win at least three Premier Leagues, three Champions Leagues, three League Cups and three FA Cups.

However, celebrations and farewells could quickly turn into commiserations, with City now five points behind Arsenal in the Premier League table, thanks to the Gunners’ impressive form this term.

As a result, City must beat both Bournemouth and Aston Villa in their remaining two games and hope Arsenal fail to beat Crystal Palace in their last game on Sunday.

Their opponents, Bournemouth, are enjoying a 10-game unbeaten run across all competitions, including nine wins.

City have also avoided defeat in each of their last 10 domestic matches away from the Etihad Stadium – keeping four clean sheets in their last five – although none of their last four Premier League trips to South Coast teams has ended in victory.

Not only are the coastal omens against Man City this week, but the runners-up are battling a Bournemouth crop boasting the longest Premier League unbeaten run of any team this season – a sensational 16 games.

The only thing stopping the Cherries from breaking into the top 5 and confirming their spot in next year’s UEFA Champions League is the number of draws that Andoni Iraola’s men have picked up.

They even went through a spell of six draws out of seven games between February and March.

Bournemouth go into this game off the back of an impressive 1-0 away win at Craven Cottage. The Brazilian winger, Rayan, was the difference after beating the Fulham defence with a stunning strike.

Only Rodri was doubtful for Man City prior to the FA Cup final, but the Spaniard started and completed 65 minutes of the Wembley showdown, so Guardiola boasts a fully-fit squad for the trip to the Vitality.

The Sky Blues boss hauled Omar Marmoush off at half time against Chelsea, but that was a tactical switch rather than an enforced one, as the Egyptian failed to make the desired impact in place of Rayan Cherki.

The latter will almost certainly be promoted back to the first XI in midweek, but Rodri should be given the green light to reprise his role over Nico Gonzalez, absent from the squad entirely at Wembley.

Meanwhile, Bournemouth and Fulham both played the second half with 10 men at Craven Cottage following straight red cards to Joachim Andersen and Ryan Christie, the latter of whom will miss this game and the rest of the season owing to his three-match ban.

Christie’s ban opens the door for Tyler Adams to make an immediate return to the first XI, although Lewis Cook is set to return from a thigh injury to offer Iraola an alternative in the middle.

Julio Soler (thigh) is seemingly back in contention too, but right-back Alex Jimenez will miss the remainder of the season.