Manchester City aim to stall Bournemouth’s surge up table

Bournemouth’s Ghanaian striker Antoine Semenyo has become the latest striker to blossom under manager Andoni Iraola. (AFP pic)

MANCHESTER CITY: Second-place Bournemouth will attempt to continue their surprising Premier League start when they visit fifth-place Manchester City on Sunday.

The Cherries (5-1-3, 18 points) join league leaders Arsenal as the only EPL sides to lose just once through nine games, with arguably their most impressive victories coming in late August at Tottenham and home against Brighton in mid-September.

Antoine Semenyo has become the latest striker to blossom under manager Andoni Iraola.

Semenyo’s six league goals follow the career-best 11 he scored in 2024-25.

While the Cherries have outperformed metrics like expected goals so far, City manager Pep Guardiola isn’t about to write off the legitimacy of their position in the table or weigh in on whether they can maintain their spot.

“That’s a question for Iraola,” Guardiola said. “I would say it’s just nine games, but also in previous seasons they’re consistent.

“The team, manager, players, a tough opponent, but we know that,” he said.

Guardiola would be as much of an authority as anyone, having led City (5-3-1, 16 points) to six league titles in total, including four in a row in an unprecedented streak that was halted with Liverpool’s triumph last season.

His side is currently six points back of Arsenal – and two behind Bournemouth – after seeing a five-match league unbeaten run broken last weekend at Aston Villa.

City have one of the world’s top scorers at their disposal in Erling Haaland, who leads the EPL with 11 goals and was cleared to return Sunday after a minor knock in the Villa defeat.

They’ve remained unbeaten in both their other competitions so far, taking seven points from three Uefa Champions League matches and recently seeing off second-tier Swansea City 3-1 in the EFL Cup fourth-round tie in midweek.

Bournemouth haven’t had to balance multiple commitments since a second-round EFL Cup defeat way back in August, and perhaps that shows in a virtually clean injury report.

Brazilian striker Evanilson was the only question after he was forced to miss last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. Iraola says he’ll be available Sunday.

“So now it’s very difficult for me to make decisions because I have to leave some players out of the squad,” Iraola said.

“But it’s good, because we are in a lovely place in that sense and we can approach the game in different ways, and I will have to think very well (about) what’s going to be the possible starting XI and the options from the bench,” Iraola said.